Category: Recipes

London Fog - Yellow Split Pea & Ham Soup

1/5/2017

The merry Yule gatherings have been successful in chasing away the darkness! The fairies in the Grove have noticed the dazzling pink sunsets glittering on the snow have moved from the late afternoon to the early evening. We also find that the joyful winter celebrations around the tables have somewhat exhausted the fruits of harvest and it is time to take stock of our larders. January often marks a month for tightening our belts!

Here is a great low-cost soup recipe for January suppers. Uses up some of the left-over ham from Christmas and only requires a few ingredients. Chock full of healthy vegetables, this warm and hearty meal is perfect for a cold winter night!

Yellow Split Pea and Ham Soup "London Fog"

Making the stock:
Place a couple of slices of ham in a pot. Cover with water. Roughly chop 1/2 yellow onion, 1 peeled carrot and 1 stick of celery. Add to pot along with 2 bay leaves and a wee handful of peppercorns. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer for an hour or so.

Making the soup:
During this time, very finely chop 1 each of: leek, peeled carrot and remainder of the yellow onion. Melt a large pat of butter in a deep frying pan. Add the veg and and gently saute - just until softened. Turn off heat.

Back to the stock:
Now remove ham slices from pot and dice/tear into small pieces. Set aside in a covered dish. Strain the stock through a sieve pressing well down on all the veg to get as much of the goodness as possible.

Back to the soup:
Pour 1/2 the stock into the fry pan and add 1 1/3 c yellow split peas. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes until peas are soft.

Ladle 1/2 the mixture, a bit at a time, into a blender/food processor, together with some of the remaining stock, to make a nice puree. Return puree to soup in the fry pan. Add the ham, stir and heat until hot through.

Serve immediately with buns, crackers and a nice cheese.

Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2017 / edited 2019

Ingredients:

1 or 2 slices of ham
1 or 2 carrots
1 stick of celery
1 yellow onion
1 leek
1 1/3 c yellow split peas
2 bay leaves
Black peppercorns
Butter

Accompaniments: buns, crackers, cheese

THRIFTY TIPS for this recipe:
- always freeze left-over ham,
- stock up on yellow split peas on sale
- grow your own veg (if you can), bay leaves will grow in a pot
- don't buy a whole bunch of celery if you won't use it - only 1 stick is required for this recipe - some grocery stores carry them this way if you look around.

3 Comments

Making Green Tomato Relish After Samhain (Hallowe'en)

11/1/2016

0 Comments

Samhain
(Oct 31/Nov 1)

the old Celtic end of
summertime and harvest

Long ago, the ancient Celtic people divided the year into two seasons. May 1st was the beginning of summer, with October 31st the beginning of winter. It certainly is the end of summer here at Meadow Sweet Grove!

Fairy celebration on All Hallow's Eve (Artist Unknown)

After a very successful All Hallow's Eve celebration last night, the fairies are now diligently searching the Grove for the very last bit of goods from the garden to preserve. It's been a very rainy October, which made it difficult to see all the lovely reds, yellows and oranges of the changing leaves, but harder still to see all your lovely tomato vines wither and droop in the wet and cold - especially if you had visions of ripe, red tomatoes! But here is a wonderful recipe to salvage and savour those green tomatoes - Green Tomato Relish - yum! yum! Good on sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers and a nice treat as a chutney with crackers and sharp cheese.

After being unable to find a recipe that I liked, I decided to mix together about 3 different recipes for green tomato pickles / green tomato relish, removing some items I didn't like and adding others. I'm very pleased with the result and hope you will be too. Also, if you are low on green tomatoes, you can add more apple or pepper to make up the difference. Enjoy!

1st place in the chutneys & relishes category of "WVCCS 8th Annual PumpkinFest, Home & Harvest Competition, 2018 & 2019".

Chop tomatoes very fine and sprinkle with salt. Allow to sit for 10 minutes. Hang in cheesecloth overnight to drain. Next day add onion, pepper, apple, celery - all very finely chopped. Add vinegar, sugars and water. Put most of the pickling spice mix in spice bag, tie and add to mixture. Sprinkle with remaining (or additional) mustard and dill seeds. Stir over low heat for approx 3 hrs (until water is reduced). Seal in sterilized canning jars. Makes 3 to 4 mid-size jars.

Green Tomato Relish
© Meadow Sweet Grove / V. Buchanan, 2016

4 lb green tomatoes
    (approx one large mixing bowl)
1 granny smith apple
1 large white onion
1/2 large red pepper
1 1/2 celery stalks with
    leaves
1 1/4 c white vinegar
2/3 c brown sugar
2/3 c white sugar
1/3 c water

also need:
1/3 cup canning/rock
salt (for salting tomatoes)
cheesecloth (for draining tomatoes)
spice bag

pickling spice mix:
1 crumbled bay leaf
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp dill seeds
1 tsp whole cloves

© Meadow Sweet Grove / V. Buchanan, 2016 edited 2021

0 Comments

It's Apple Harvest Time (Apple Chutney)

10/4/2016

0 Comments

Apple Chutney

We had an extraordinary number of apples this year so I decided to try and make a batch of Apple Chutney. My Dad did a lot of canning and preserves over the years and I found a recipe in his old, and very much used, Kerr recipe book. I am pleased to say that it turned out to be very tasty in a Ploughman's Lunch! The coffee service was my Mom's and I have discovered that it is a very popular design. This one is marked Japan but I have seen almost identical patterns on Sadler (England) and Wiuterliug (Germany) dishes. I've added complimentary pieces over the years and the sets mix together very well.

Apple Chutney
6 apples
1 minced red pepper
1 minced yellow pepper
1 cup (apple) cider vinegar
1/4 cup black currant jelly
1 cup sugar
Juice 2 lemons
1/2 cup seeded chopped raisins
1 1/2 tsps ground ginger
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
Pare, core & chop apples. Simmer all ingredients until thick. Pour immediately into sterilized jars and seal immediately.

0 Comments

Forward>>

London Fog - Yellow Split Pea & Ham Soup

Making Green Tomato Relish After Samhain (Hallowe'en)

It's Apple Harvest Time (Apple Chutney)

Categories