Hopping into the Hodgepodge

 

It's Wednesday again, so it's time for the Hodgepodge -- the linkup where Joyce, at  From This Side of the Pond, asks the questions and bloggers provide the answers on their own blogs.  This week's Hodgepodge questions have a spring and Easter theme.   Here goes:

1.What would you say is the most difficult task when it comes to spring cleaning? Have you completed that task this year? Any plans to get it done?

I don't do actual spring cleaning, preferring to try and keep up with cleaning tasks all year round, but I do find that windows need cleaning in spring after a long and messy winter.  Mr. T and I will work at it together, but it's not done yet.  Our house is still surrounded by snow.

A 1954 Wonder Book ready to list in my Etsy shop

2. Your favorite pastel color? Favorite thing you own in a pastel shade? 

Oh, that's a good question.  Possibly mint green, possibly peach, possibly light blue. Favorite thing I own in a pastel shade would probably be a peach colored sweater.

3. Do you like ham? Do you fix ham year round or is it mostly just a 'holiday food'? Baked ham-ham and eggs-ham and cheese sandwich-scalloped potatoes and ham-Hawaiian pizza....what's your pleasure? 

 

I do like ham.   I tend to only cook a ham at holiday time, but really there's no reason why I don't cook one any time of year.  I have a hot ham and potato salad recipe that we really enjoy.  Hawaiian pizza is good too -- I usually use barbecue sauce rather than pizza sauce on it.  I guess I have never posted that ham potato salad recipe, so there is no time like the present.   It really is delicious.  One could probably adapt it to use leftover Easter ham, but I've always just used ham steak.

HOT  HAM  AND  POTATO  SALAD
 

2 lb. red potatoes, scrubbed and cut in 1-inch cubes
8 ounces smoked ham steak, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 Tblsp. cider vinegar
1 Tblsp. honey
2 tsp. coarse-grained mustard (I often use the Dijon pub-style with mustard seeds)
1/3 to 1/2 cup mayonnaise (light works fine)
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce
Chopped parsley to taste
Hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered (optional)
Plum tomatoes, quartered (optional)

    Place potatoes in saucepan; cover with lightly salted water.  Bring to boil, cover, lower heat, and simmer until just tender, about 15 minutes.
    Meanwhile, cook ham in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove  ham to a large bowl, using a slotted spoon.  Add celery and onion to the bowl.
    Pour vinegar into warm skillet, stirring to dissolve browned bits in bottom of pan.  Stir in honey and mustard.  Slowly whisk in mayo.  Add salt, pepper, and Tabasco.
    Drain cooked potatoes and, while still warm, add to mixing bowl.  Pour dressing over potatoes.  Toss gently to combine, then sprinkle on the chopped parsley.  Serve salad in a shallow bowl (or even in the skillet) encircled with egg and tomato quarters (sprinkled with salt & pepper) if desired.  Serve warm.

Yield :  4 servings.

4. Do you celebrate Easter? What did Easter look like when you were a kid? What are your plans for Easter this year? 

 

I do celebrate Easter! Joyously!  

When I was a kid, Easter was not a holiday that I fully understood.  We did go to church, but the Gospel was not really part of it.  We did not have Easter baskets.  Instead, my mother hid jelly beans around the house for us to collect.  We usually did have a lovely Easter dinner at my grandmother's farmhouse.

 Easter plans this year include an early outdoor service, breakfast at the church, then an Easter worship service.  My daughter and I plan to collaborate on Easter dinner at her house.  Yes, it will include ham!

5. Something that makes you feel hopeful amidst all the chaos and confusion this world brings? 

I can give only one possible answer to this: the fact that God is in complete control and that He is working all things after the counsel of His own will -- and that one day all wrongs will be made right.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Looking forward to dinner out with old friends this evening (Tuesday).  It will be good to catch up. 

And that's the Hodgepodge!  Have a wonderful Easter, everyone!