Monday Dinner

I'm still operating on the "too cold to go out if I don't have to" principle, so there's still not a whole lot of choices for dinner. Luckily, I still had the meaty hambone left over from the Christmas spiral ham, and I bought a bag of split peas on my last shopping trip.

Dinner tonight was Split Pea Soup with Ham, and homemade bread from the bread machine. I know that split pea soup isn't very well-known or popular in the South, but my parents were Midwesterners and I grew up on the stuff. Once you can get past the appearance (which I admit is green and gooey and not at all appealing), the flavor is delicious. Rich and meaty and so much more complex than the short ingredient list would imply. Plus it's simple and wholesome and as cheap as a meal can get. It's also a dish that is in line with my goals of eating real food (with ingredients my great-grandmother would recognize), and avoiding "edible food-like substances" (overly processed junk) as often as possible.

To make, I cover the ham bone with water in my big stock pot. I bring to a simmer and let cook for about 2 hours, adding more water as necessary to keep the bone covered, until the meat is falling off the bone and the broth is flavorful. (The liquid has usually reduced by about 1/3 by this point.) I take the bone out, scoop out all the bits of meat, and let everything cool until I can handle it without burning myself. I separate all the bits of meat from the bone and fat, which takes all of 5 minutes, then throw the meat back in with the broth. (The feral cat that we feed greatly appreciated the bowl of fat and scraps I set out alongside his dry kibble.) I add in a bag of dried split peas (rinsed and picked over), bring everything back to a simmer, and cook until the peas turn to mush and the soup gets thick. It's done after seasoning with salt & pepper to taste. (I also really like the addition of curry powder, an idea I got from Alton Brown of Good Eats, but I'm the only one in the family who does so I stopped adding it.) A wonderfully rich and hearty meal for a cold day, especially when served with hot, fresh, buttered bread.

Totals:

free - hambone
.66 - bag of split peas
.20 - ingredients for loaf of bread (stocked up during 99 cent bread flour sale in December)

.86 for dinner for 3, with lots of everything left over