National Glazed Spiral Ham Day !

Happy Friday! and with that is another National Food Day Celebration! Today April 15th is National Glazed Spiral Ham Day!

I love ham. Especially the spiral cut kind covered in a delicious glaze.You know, the kind that looks like this?

 

Delicious folds of ham covered in a sweet sticky glaze mmmmm

What is not to love?

This is one of those food days that I could easily celebrate every day. I usually only have spiral ham around Christmas and sometimes Easter. There have been a few occasions when we would have it at one of my grandparent’s houses on Thanksgiving. This might sound un American, but I prefer a glazed spiral Ham to Turkey any day. Yes, that includes a deep fried turkey. (Hmm deep fried ham?)

My favorite part about spiral ham is that there are always plenty of leftovers! What do you make with leftover ham?

Ham sandwiches on dinner rolls! We all know that ham and cheese is a great combination, so why not add some extra sharp Wisconsin cheddar to it!

Which leads me to another use for excess spiral ham. I gave my Mom some of the left over spiral ham for her to use. Her favorite way to use ham is in split pea soup. Well, in NC it isn’t quite soup weather anymore. It is SPRING!

As I mentioned earlier in the week my Mom’s roses are in bloom! Just a warning, you will probably be seeing a lot of Rose pictures over the next few weeks, so I hope you don’t mind. Anyway, since it isn’t soup season anymore, my mom decided to make split pea hummus!

I have had hummus many times, but never the split pea variety. What did I do with it?

Well, put it on another sandwich of course! I hope that you have a great National Glazed Spiral Ham Day! Shouldn’t it be a week celebration, since that is how long it will take you to eat all of the ham? Have a great weekend!

Here is the hummus recipe.

 

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My Mom’s Split Pea Hummus

Makes about 3 1/2 cups

1 cup dried split peas (green or yellow)

3 cups water

3 garlic cloves (more or less depending on taste)

1 can garbanzo beans (drained)

1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste)

3 tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup lemon juice

1-2 tsp salt (salt to taste)

5 drops Tabasco sauce

1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest

2-4 tbsp water (to adjust thickness)

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook split peas and 3 cups of water for 30-45 minutes until peas are tender and most of water evaporates. You may need to add more water as you cook. Once cooked, drain away excess water.

2. Mince garlic in a food processor. With food processor off, add the cooked split peas, garbanzo beans, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, Tabasco, lemon zest. Pulse until smooth paste is formed.

3. Adjust thickness by adding water and then pulsing until your desired thickness is achieved.

Chill in refrigerator. Serve with sesame crackers, carrots, or grape tomatoes, pita chips, or use as a spread.

Enjoy!

©Taylor Mathis

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