ham and bean soup

The Husband is, as we speak, chopping basil and pine nuts into tiny little pieces for some homemade pesto, having announced upon our return from our afternoon out that I was to relax on the couch while he took care of dinner. Not being one to argue with such direction, I am nestled in the cushions, fresh burgundy polish on my toes and a rerun of “America’s Next Top Model” on television. I took a long walk this morning — it’s flirting with 70 degrees outside in southcentral Kentucky — and we spent the afternoon shopping, going to lunch and going to the movies, so not a bad day overall.

Anyway, last week was bitterly cold, so I stopped by Kroger one night to pick up some white beans and commenced making ham and bean soup. After a quick bean soak (as opposed to overnight soak), the hambones went into the pot for 90 minutes of stewing, followed by another half-hour of simmering after I added more ham, some onions, and some garlic. Several twists of fresh-ground pepper later, and voila!

Hambone solo!

I froze the leftovers in a gallon bag for when Jack Frost decides to return to the area and went about my merry way. That’s not very dumbass of me, so here’s a picture of our new olive oil dispenser — as I tried to fill it earlier tonight, I spilled olive oil all over the kitchen. If you’ve ever had to clean up olive oil, you know the futility of it.

Artfully posed in front of the coffeemaker … which is artfully draped with a towel.

And finally, here is the result of all The Husband’s hard work:

Delicious!