Yep, it's another cold, rainy, windy day in Indiana.  Hopefully the sun will make sporadic appearances throughout the day.  It had occurred to me that the weather has a lot to do with the food served at our home.  And today I'm thinking that split pea soup should be on the menu for this evening.  Not only because it is super easy, but it is also pretty tasty.  Not to mention, this soup is inexpensive.  As a kid, it wasn't my favorite soup (that honor went to clam chowder), but I did love picking out the chunks of ham that fell from the hocks my mother had added for flavor. Luckily, my children like almost any kind of soup and when the weather is as it is today they say, "Can we make soup?"  And I usually agree.

1 lb. pkg split green peas, rinsed

1 large onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 Qt. cold water

3 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 bay leaves

2 meaty ham hocks

salt and freshly ground pepper


Directions

Place the rinsed split peas to the crock pot with thyme, bay leaves, carrots, onions and ham hock.  Cover the crock and set temperature.  Depending upon your dinner time put the setting on low or high.  Cook on high 4—5 hours or on low 8—10 hours until peas are very soft and meat from hocks are almost falling off the bone.


Remove the thyme, bay leaves and hocks.  Separate meat from the bones, dice if you like and return to the pot.   Give the soup a good stir, mashing some of the peas as you go.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with crusty brown bread.  S

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I love going to market and over hearing, "they have fresh asparagus.. ramps are out..fiddleheads over here" The welcomed appearance of fresh vegetables at the market in spring elicits excitement in any culinary epicurean.This week I found peas, fresh English peas!!! Yumm.  I have already made them for my family and cannot wait to serve them again with our Easter dinner.  The following recipe is so simple, yet full of flavor.  You may leave out the compound butter, but it just isn't the same.  If you haven't already, check out your local farmers market.  Even establishments such as Trader Joe's and Whole Foods have wonderful fresh veg.  Spring is here, enjoy the fresh bounty.


Buttered English Peas

Ingredients

1 lb. English peas, shelled



1 tsp Chopped tarragon



4 Tbs unsalted butter (room temp)



2 tsp lemon thyme compound butter (see recipe below)

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions

Bring pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the peas until just tender about 15 minutes. (They should turn bright green, but still have bite -no mushy peas).  Drain.  Toss peas with the butter, tarragon, and lemon thyme compound butter. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lemon Thyme Compound Butter

Combine 1 ½ tsp lemon zest, 1 ½ tsp thyme, and ¼ teaspoon salt in food processor whiz for a few seconds to break down thyme and zest, add 8 tablespoons room temp unsalted butter and whiz till combined. Make a small log with butter on plastic wrap. Wrap and place in refrigerator to chill.


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I know this post is a bit belated, but the holidays had me hustling and bustling around.  Now that I have had time to slow down and go on with sharing the delicious recipes we used for Christmas.  This year I had an urge to connect with my ancestral roots.  Both Chad and I have branches of our family tree in Britian, so I decided to do some research and have a traditional English Christmas Eve dinner complete with Christmas Crackers (little party poppers that you let off before dessert.  It is traditional for goose to be served, however due to the lack of a fresh goose, I went with duck, close enough.  We also had roasted tenderloin with blue cheese cream sauce as a main protein as well.  We started off with appetizers of sardines with mustard and crackers, pickles, pickled onions, and a cheese board of English White Cheddar and Cotswold with green onion and chive, and to top it off a crudite of raw veg with sour cream dipping sauce.  Luckily I have always had my children try a small taste of anything before they decide whether or not they "like" it.  The sardines were a hit!  My sister, who said, "normally I don't like sardines." couldn't stop noshing on them.  We had sides of roasted potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts with balsamic vinegar, and even though not an English creation we couldn't leave out the beloved green been casserole.  I have included a couple of the recipes and hopefully you'll try them, because they are delicous and can be used for any occasion a weekend dinner.  Invite a couple friends, put everything together and Bob's your uncle!

Roast Christmas Duck (adapted from Jamie Oliver)

Ingredients

2 red onions, peeled and halved
4 sticks of celery, trimmed and halved
3 carrots, peeled and halved
1 bulb garlic,  papery layers removed and sliced in half
few sprigs of rosemary
1 5-6 lb duck with 1lb with giblets, at room temperature
For Pan Gravy

3 Tablespoons plain flour
1¾ pints chicken stock



Isabella gives the duck its 5 spice massage

 Lightly oil the duck with olive oil. Rub the five-spice over the bird. Stuff the pierced clementines into the cavity.
Under the wing, on both sides, pierce fat pockets with knife to allow fat to render. Also stab the fatty parts on the back of the bird - the fat will render out and make everything delicious.
Place the duck on top of the vegetables and giblets.
Put the duck into the pre-heated oven and after 20 min turn the oven down to 375.
The cooking time depends on whether your bird is at room temperature or not and also on the size and type of oven you've got and the quality of the bird. As a guide, give your birds about to 35-40 minutes oven time per lb. So for the this size bird, about 3-3.5 hours should suffice.
After 35 minutes in the oven, wrap the legs in a single layer of tinfoil. This will protect the legs from getting dry and burnt.
When the cooking time is up, carefully lift the bird out of the tray and rest it on a board, loosely covered with tinfoil, for 20 minutes. While your bird is resting, skim most of the fat off the liquid left in the roasting tray, I like to pour it into a separating pitcher and then pour the separated stock back into the pan, but spooning it off works also.  Now whisk in the flour.
Put the tray on the heat, and keep stirring - the flour will thicken the liquid. Add the stock, then pour the gravy and the caramelized veg into a saucepan.
Scrape all the sticky bits off the bottom of the tray and add to the pan. Simmer the gravy gently for about 15 to 20 minutes, then strain into a clean saucepan and keep warm. Remember to skim any fat off the top before serving.


The Best Roasted Potatoes




Ingredients

River and Isabella peel potatoes-The actually fight over this job!


Roasted Brussel Sprouts












Ingredients

Stalk of brussel sprouts
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and freshly ground pepper



Logan removes and scores brussel sprouts

Pre-heat oven to 400.  Place a pot of water on stove and bring to a boil.  Remove sprouts from the stalk, rinse and mark an X on each stem base.  Place sprouts into boiling water and parboil for 1-2 minutes.  Drain in a colander.  Pour dry sprouts in a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper.  Place in oven and roast for 30-35 minutes occasionally tossing in the juices until they are brown on the outside and tender inside. You may not have enjoyed brussel sprouts in the past, but these are delicious.