Life from Scratch and Ham and Bean Soup Recipe

I've been trying to cook more lately and have enjoyed reading, "Life from Scratch: a memoir of food, family and forgiveness" by Sasha Martin.  It was a fascinating book that discussed a woman's interesting life and her journey to healing through cooking.

The author inspired me to create some of her recipes, such as French Bread (which turned out well and was fairly easy) and homemade pasta.  The homemade pasta tasted good but my husband and I agreed that we probably wouldn't make it again until we got a pasta maker.  As I told one of my coworkers, the pasta was pretty thick and reminded more of a roundworm than spaghetti.  She loved my veterinary analogy...

I'm hoping to make her chocolate cake recipe this weekend and I will let you know how that goes : )

Between having a food allergy and simply cooking and trying new things and having a more flexible schedule, my family has had chicken satay, smoked brisket and more.  My son sometimes goes to his go-to, a peanut butter bagel, but at least he is getting exposure to new things.

I also learned how to make a roasted pepper and made it into harissa.  It was downright addictive!  Food is good and healthy food is great.  Sasha Martin has inspired me to seek therapy in cooking instead of shopping or Internet searching.  I look forward to more culinary adventures.

This is a little something I put together with leftover Christmas ham:

Slow Cooker- Cook on low for 6.5 hours

Ingredients:

Leftover ham bone with ham attached
1 Box or about 3.5 cups of chicken broth
1 can of stewed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups of dry white beans
small amount of garlic (I think I used about 2 cloves minced)

You simply put everything together and turn the slow-cooker on.  An easy and frugal way to cook leftover ham.