Well, since we didn’t really have any major plans for Easter Dinner (MIL being busy helping out with her new 6 day old grandson at my SIL’s house) I wound up spontaneously staying after church yesterday to help with the community Easter Dinner. I served salad, cleared tables, ran to get tea for folks, things like that. I also got to spend some extra time with some of my church friends who I usually can’t talk with-I’m frequently too busy in coffee hour trying to corral the little ones 🙂
The side benefits? Well, I was able to line up folks to come take 2 rosebushes and a bunch of bleeding heart off my hands (and they are going to do the digging!) Also, the church had 6 lovely, meaty ham bones that they didn’t have any plans for 🙂 Only three of the 12 or so people working had any interest in taking them home, so I have one in the fridge to make lentil soup with later this week, and one in the freezer for the future! They also were giving away the extra scalloped potatoes-they had 4 huge food service sized chaffing dishes full of the stuff left over! Everyone got to take home a large styrofoam container full. That was my side dish for last night and we will use the rest for dinner later in the week.
Not a bad payoff for a few hours of helping out the church.
I love bean soup made with a nice, meaty ham hock. I wish I’d thought of requesting one of the leftovers from my church brunch yesterday. Lucky you!
I’ve got the ham bone from an Easter dinner I attended too. Going to put it on to simmer with split peas! Yummy, and almost free!
I noticed you are reading Lasagna gardening. I read that last fall, then put my garden to bed using some of their techniques. I like the idea of not having to remove the existing sod here……..WAY too much work. Hoping it is cooking away out there in the veggie patch, I’ll know soon, when I head out to begin the garden for spring.
Good for you!! You’re makin’ me hungry.
Is there anything else to be done with ham bone except making pea or bean soup? I just hate the stuff, but it seems sad to waste a whole ham bone. I used to give it to my mil to make pea soup, but she passed away and I don’t know anyone else who eats it.
M2F-You could boil it to make ham stock that could be used for soup and try to use a paring knife or something to get as much meat as possible off the bone.
If you like regular beans like pintos or great northern beans you could just cook it in with them to give a great flavor.