uma previsão do tempo nevoeiro, a sopa de fiambre com ervilhas verdes secas

 All good things must come to an end, in this case the Thespian´s Christmas ham.This year it was a revelation in deliciousness. We had plentiful cold cuts and many a ham and egg collation but my attempt at Nasi Goreng was a disaster. It was all about the shrimp paste.Thank you Richard Turner of The Guardian, sadly we won´t be using your recipe again.The moment you throw just a teaspoonful of it in the pan it is guaranteed to clear any kitchen.What was that foul smell that was permeating the kitchen? Had something unspeakably horrible died in the larder or had I forgotten about a hard-boiled egg that might have rolled under the cooker before Christmas? You can´t quite locate the source,holding your nose as you search,you open the windows,put on the extractor fan and leave the house in the hope the odour may have dissipated on your return.

The big question here is why do I keep anything that smells so repellent in my larder.Time again for that annual pantrification folks.How time flies when you are enjoying yourself!! What other little nasties are lurking in my little shop of horrors?
Well with every permutation of glazed ham recipes
tried and tested its time for soup and one soup in particular ,"London Particular"  named after the thick blankets of yellow fog or `peasoupers´ that used to engulf London back in the day.I always feel a tingle when I make this soup, as I if I am being  transported back to that London smog with gaslight barely illuminating tarts with cigarettes leaning underneath them.
Barely a winter goes by without me making at least one batch of this fortifying broth.
Making homemade bone broth is arguably one of the most important techniques a Traditional Cook must incorporate into the kitchen routine on a very frequent basis.
Looking at a bone, you might think it has nothing to offer in terms of nutrition. Lick it, and it has an unpleasantly sandpapery texture. Bite into it, and all you get is a sore tooth. It looks so dead; what kind of useful nutrients could possibly be in there?
The answer: just about everything. Bones are a perfect example of why you should never judge a book by its cover. Locked away inside that hard shell is a wealth of essential nutrients – anti-inflammatory and gut-healing proteins, healthy fats, and a wealth of minerals just waiting to be used. Wild animals the world over know this: they’ll go straight for the bones every time they make a kill. Unlike dogs or vultures though, human beings aren’t built to crack open the bones with our bare teeth. Instead, we have to make our oversized primate brains earn their keep by cooking the bones to get at the goodness inside.

The old song – “Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones” – really got it all wrong. Bones aren’t dry at all; prepared properly, they’re one of the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat. And the price is right, too: think of how many bones we all throw out every week. Using those bones saves you a considerable amount of money, because it stretches a leg of lamb, a shoulder of pork or a roast chicken carcass into not one, but two high-quality sources of protein and fat. All the gristly, unattractive odd bits get a new way to be useful, and you save significantly on you weekly food bill.
So without further ado, add crunch to your lunch with this easy peasy Martha Stewart soup that features split peas, ham, and my addition of homemade cumin spiced croutons. Use leftover ham to make split pea soup prep even easier.Thanks Martha for this great recipe and for once your ingredients are not for 100 portions!! Well the book was called "Martha Entertains"

Split pea soup with ham
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 chopped medium onion
4 carrots, thinly sliced
3 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 cups home made chicken broth
1 bag (16 ounces) green split peas, picked over and rinsed
Ham bone plus 2 cups left over ham cut into 1/2-inch cubes

In a heavy casserole with a lid, heat the oil over a medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Cook until vegetables begin to soften, 5 to 8 minutes.
Add broth, split peas, ham bone, and 5 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and partially cover; simmer until peas are soft, 30 to 45 minutes.
Meanwhile,make cumin croutons:
1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin
1 heaped teaspoon whole cumin
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
100g white bread cut into 3cm cubes
Pre-heat the oven to 200C/390F/ gas mark 5. Toss the bread cubes around in a bowl with the cumin, a bit of salt and half the olive oil.Spread over a baking tray and bake in the oven, turning occasionally for 20 minutes until golden brown.
Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.
Remove and discard bone from soup. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender (don't overfill); return to pot. Add ham cubes, and simmer until heated through. If necessary, thin with water. Add salt, pepper, to taste. Serve topped with the croutons.