left-overs

for my birthday this year i made a ham.  it was fabulous.  of course, the best part is all the delicious left-overs!  i made a lot of ham sandwiches, and split pea soup.

i got the ham at costco.  it's spiral cut, which is convenient, and has a bone, which is awesome.  i'm not entirely sure how to make split pea soup, but this is how i did it:

Split pea soup

1/2 med onion
1 celery stalk
butter (i didn't measure it, i just used enough to saute the onion and celery.  maybe 1/8 cup)
2 packages of yellow split peas (from Kaldi Coffee, i want to say they were 100 grams each)
water
ham bone with meat attached
200 - 250g ham
marjoram
sage
thyme
salt
pepper

rinse the split peas gently in a sieve.
chop the onion and celery finely.  melt butter in a large pot, then cook the onion and celery until soft.  add the split peas then immediately add water, just enough to cover the peas.  add the ham bone, and add more water (if needed) to cover the bone.  add spices (marjoram, sage and thyme; again i didn't measure, but the marjoram is probably the main spice you want to use, then add a bit of sage and thyme.  if you want to measure, start with 1/2 tsp marjoram and 1/4 tsp each of thyme and sage.)  add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  bring to a boil over med-high heat, then cover and reduce to low.  simmer until peas are soft.  add water if it seems to be getting too thick.  the peas will mush up and thicken the soup, but be careful not to add too much water.  when the peas are soft, add chopped ham and heat through.  season to taste (mainly with salt, but if you feel it could use a bit more marjoram, thyme or sage, add a little, then allow it to simmer a bit longer); remember the ham is salty so you should taste the soup before adding more salt!  when the ham is heated through, it's time to enjoy your soup!