Recipe: Ham & Cheese Quiche

Yield: one pie
Time: 30 minutes prep; 45 minutes baked at 350F

Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick (1/4 c.) of butter
• 3/4 c. of flour
• pinch of salt
• one large or two small onions, sliced thinly
• 1 c. of diced ham
• 1/2 - 2/3 c. of Swiss cheese, shredded
• 4 large eggs
• salt
• pepper
• water (for crust), plus approx. 1 Tbs. of water, milk, or cream per egg, for the filling

Method:

1. cut the butter (you may substitute lard or shortening) into the flour, with a pinch of salt, until the butter is about the size of small peas
2. add cold water, 1 Tbs. at a time, mixing it in, until the dough comes together but isn't too sticky
3. form the dough into a disk, wrap with plastic, and refrigerate for 20 minutes
4. while the dough is in the fridge, slice and sautee the onions on medium-low heat until they cook down and start to carmelize (about 10 minutes)
5. set aside the onions to cool while you make the egg mixture
6. beat the eggs with the water, milk, or cream until frothy, then stir in the ham and half the shredded cheese
7. roll out the pie crust, pop it into a pie pan, and pinch up a bit of a rim
8. spread the onions in the bottom of the crust, then pour the egg mixture on top
9. sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top of the filling
10. bake for 45 minutes at 350F, until it starts to brown, and smells done

Notes:

1. I happened to use Swiss because it's what was already open, but cheddar works really well, too.
2. The beauty of quiche is that the filling can contain pretty much anything you want -- broccoli & cheese, mushrooms, crabmeat, etc.
   

Recipe: Split Pea Soup

Yield: half a gallon
Time: a couple of hours

Ingredients:

• one ham bone, with some of the meat still on it, plus some previously picked off bits of meat that isn't viable for sandwiches
  
• two small to medium sized onions, quartered and sliced
  
• one large or two smaller carrots, peeled and diced, or sliced
• one pound of dried split peas
• approx. half a teaspoon of salt
• pepper, preferably freshly ground
• two quarts of water

Method:

1. sautee the onions a few minutes until translucent
2. add the ham, ham bone, split peas, water, salt and pepper
3. bring to a boil then turn the heat down to low and simmer until the peas start to fall apart on their own (I let it go for a couple of hours, but it probably doesn't really take that long)
4. pull out the ham bone and let it cool
5. pick some more meat off the bone, shred it, and toss it back into the pot
6. whoosh it through a blender, or use a "boat motor" type hand held stick blender, until it's fairly smooth, but you can still see flecks of pork
7. adjust seasonings if necessary

Note: I normally use carrots in this recipe, but didn't have any this time, and I really don't think the soup suffered for the lack of them.