Can I make a facimile of split pea soup with a(n old) can of peas and some ham chunks?

Probably a good technique would be to treat the ham chunks as hocks and bake them for a while, then deglaze the roasting pan and boil the ham to make a broth. Then add your pureed peas.

OMG why would you want to? Food touching and green food at that.

@majorrich I’m too lazy to dirty another pan. The ham was cooked for Easter dinner in 2014. I figure it is cooked enough.
Would you puree the peas in their own liquid?

@chyna I would never serve anything like that to you. I know better. You’d get PB&J.

According to this recipe, you’ll also need carrots, potato, onions and celery: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/13384/split-pea-soup/

I would have pureed the peas lightly in the ham broth. You can just boil the bejeebers out of the ham at low temperatures to get your base broth. the onions and celery would certainly add flavor to the broth. Don’t turn the peas into paste, rather beat them up to a lumpy pulp.

What I would do, if you don’t want to make soup, (but if you’re determined to use the ingredients you have which are the ham and the peas), is I’d bake the ham (to heat), boil the peas and make some rice, and eat it like that.

@jca is on the track. You will be improvising with the ham and the peas. Doesn’t look too difficult.

The ham is a year and a half old?

Me thinks you’re a bit brave eating that old ham, @LuckyGuy.

No you would get food poisoning. Best to use the bag of peas as a cold compress when needed.

You could make a facsimile – whether it would be a good one, I don’t know.

@janbb: That would be a soup-simile.

@Zaku Yes the ham is that old. I figure that I why engineers invented and designed freezers.
I defrosted it in the microwave and cut it up already. it tasted fine. There was a little freezer burn but not much.

@jca Thanks but that is just too much work and i don’t have all the ingredients in stock. If the ham is in soup I won’t be able to tell it is freezer burned.

@janbb Arrrgh! why did you tell me. that will drive me crazy!!!

I am going to take the easy way out and puree the can of peas in its own water. I’ll only hit it a little. If it is too watery I’ll toss in a little flour to thicken it..

OK. It is 5:00 pm. I’m going in! Let’s roll!

@LuckyGuy Even though I am an atheist I will pray for you and your bowels not to get food poisoning.

Real French-Kanadian split pea soup needs to be slow-cooked for at least an hour and a half, preferably two hours. I use a slow-cooker and let it cook all night. The longer you let it simmer, the better it will taste. The problem is, you’re supposed to start with dried peas, so your peas are going to turn to mush before it’s done. I prefer a bit more substance to my peas, personally, but it won’t be inedible.

Don’t worry about preparing the ham first. Just dice it and add it to your peas, then add your spices (thyme, garlic, cracked peppercorns, and BUTTER; make sure you add the butter, since you aren’t using ham hocks to add extra fat – without the butter, it won’t taste like pea soup), any vegetables you’re adding (I recommend celery and carrots) bring it to a boil, and then let it simmer for an hour and a half to two hours.

My mother was French-Kanadian, so I grew up on split pea soup, tourtiere, and nun’s farts.

Edit: As long as it’s been kept below freezing, food will keep forever. It may lose flavour, but it’s still perfectly safe to eat. Scientists have safely consumed frozen mammoth, for example.

You know…they used spit pea soup for the frow up in the Exorcist…

It could just as easily be a facsimile of cat poop. But I wish you good health and a long, happy life.

I added fresh dill from the garden, a splash of olive oil, some garlic powder and a little salt oil. I ate it and it was delicious. I’ll check back in 2 hours, prime time for the effects of food poisoning.

@LuckyGuy Sorry I thought you had a frozen bag of peas not a can of peas. You might be fine. Fingers crossed.

@LuckyGuy How was the consistency. The ingredients should be fine as long as you cooked it well. But split peas are more firm then canned peas. I guess you could throw in more carrots or chopped onions for that.

If something has been in a freezer, (as long as it hasn’t been repeatedly defrosted and refrozen) there is zero chance of food poisoning. Period.

Taste-wise, canned peas cannot be redeemed, if edible is the goal.

I don’t care how long the ham was frozen. If it wasn’t a freezer ice-pop, I’d use it. I don’t eat meat, but cook it for carnivores.

Three hours later and I’m fine.
I agree with @Buttonstc . If something was fine when it went into the freezer it is still fine to eat when it comes out.- as long as you don’t mind a little dehydration around the edges.

@Adirondackwannabe The consistency was perfect! I’ll do this again for sure.

@LuckyGuy Okay, I’ll try it sometime. Thanks

Me too, @LuckyGuy. If there’s an apocalypse and all I have is a can of peas and a wind-burned pig hide, I’ll try it out.

I want Ancient Split Pea Soup and Ham for the first time in my entire life.

I’ll bring some to the Fluther picnic.

uh..yeah, a facsimile it will be, although maybe a distant one. Give it a shot. As a bachelor, I’ve done similar things. Make sure your ketchup supply is up to snuff, just in case!

Do you like split pea and ham?
I do not like them Sam-I-Am-Lucky-Guy.

Probably would work and I am the queen of split pea soup, just made a batch in the crockpot here last week.
I don’t add potatoes but finely diced onion, chopped mini carrots, diced celery and salt and white pepper. We also have the Andersons split pea seasoning but you can add a wee bit o’ garlic salt too and thyme. Only one can of peas though is not going to make much, maybe a couple servings.

BTW: I just saw an interesting way to alert oneself if there has been a power outage sufficient for things in the freezer to begin defrosting.

Obviously this comes in most handy if you’ll be traveling and away from home.

Take a mason jar (or other freezer-safe container) and fill about ¼ or less with water. Place horizontally till water freezes.

Once frozen, place container vertically. If you come home and see the water no longer vertical and pooled and frozen in the bottom, you know that the power was out for awhile.

This alerts you to be extra careful to inspect any meats for problems from the defrosting-refreezing process.

I think I would add a can of rinsed white beans (pureed in the blender along with the peas) to give it more of the creamy texture of “good” split pea soup. You could also add some boiled potatoes and puree them for a similar effect. I would also saute some cubed carrots and celery in some butter with a teeny bit of pepper, then throw them in after you’ve pureed the peas with your thickener of choice, and added the ham chunks.

I like the idea of adding the white beans for the creamy texture. I added a bit of flour to thicken it up. I’ll try the beans next. Thanks for the tip.

@LuckyGuy We should all get together and write a cookbook called Old Stuff from Our Fridge and How to Turn it Into Gourmet Grub.

Lucky Guy qualifies for the fluther aluminum chef

@Kardamom I hate letting food go to waste. My nephew and sister in law are in debt and don’t have two nickles to rub together. Yet they throw out expired food.
Let’s be clear I can afford anything. (Got it?) I tried to convince them they should eat the stuff. It is still good. “Eat it! I’d eat that in a second!” Instead of the message I wanted to deliver, both of them heard I want their cast-offs! That is not what I meant. Now they bring thier old stuff to family events in plastic bags and give it to me. SIL is on welfare; nephew can’t pay his mortgage or car insurance – and they are giving ME food?!?! Eat it for crissake!!! Don’t go out for pizza again!!! Don’t buy that large soda!!!
My advice falls on deaf ears. Ugh!

Do you bring up the starving children in <insert impoverished nation here>?

@majorrich Nah. I don’t care about the starving children in abc or xyz. (Well maybe a little – but not enough to do anything about it.) I care about my SIL and nephew spending money they don’t have on stuff they don’t need. So what if the spaghetti is a year past expiration. You are going to boil it anyway. You can get 8 meals out of that box! Don’t waste money on KFC! And you sure as heck don’t need the biscuits gravy and cole slaw! Stay home and turn on the stove! It is not that hard.
Deaf ears.

@LuckyGuy: I like how food pantries have rules that they don’t accept food that is expired. So that means if I have some cans of soup or some mac and cheese in a box, and it’s a few months expired, they won’t take it. Makes no sense.

Did you know that a store can sell food past the expiration date?

Food pantries welcome expired goods, @jca.

Most of the meals I make/fix/prepare are a version of this question. Cheap meat (expired or discount), fresh or frozen, combined with Aldi veggies and a starch (pasta/rice/potato).

@ibstubro: Maybe some food pantries accept expired food, but around here, the ones I’ve seen signs for do not. Maybe they’re just uppity, I don’t know. All the signs I’ve seen in stores and in public places asking for food specify that they will not accept expired food.

My father ate WWII rations when he served in the national guard around the 50’s. He didn’t care for them, but he never had problems with them.

@jca You’re right in my experience. I volunteered for a while at one sorting out food. We had to look for expiration dates and foods that were expired – even canned goods – had to be thrown out.

Stop! You’re killing me!!!

Think of the children. ;-)

@LuckyGuy…does your nephew and SIL have kids? If so, and they are that poor, they probably qualify for hundreds in food stamps. Food was the least of my worries back in those days.
But that is for home cooking. Eating out is a whole different ball game. That would drive me nuts too.
When I started a new job in 1998, which marked the beginning of end of those desperate poverty years, on the 3rd day the boss asked me to ride with her as she made sales calls. At one point she asked if I wanted to run by Wendy’s and grab a bite to eat. I froze. And panicked at the same time (yes, I have “ability to multitask” on my resume!) I didn’t have the money. Although I was starving (not literally) I said I wasn’t hungry but told her to go ahead.

Most of the food given by food pantries in Illinois and Missouri is expired.

We sort by product, not date, and it’s all good unless obviously swelled spoiled.

I guess Missouri food pantries and NY/NJ food pantries have different policies.

Must be, @jca.

Around here the supermarkets mark down fresh foods near expiration, then freeze and donate them when they expire. Meat and prepared foods, esp.

@ibstubro I think that is a great idea! Rotting food is such a waste. It took energy and resources (water) to make and deliver it. Further, when it rots and breaks down it puts out methane and CO2.

Sam’s club even pulls all identifying markings off of the $14 refrigerated specialty vegetables and freezes them.

Flip side is that I’ve seen Aldi’s dumpster full of perfectly usable food.
Yes, I have made use of some. Most recently to feed the rabbits behind the house.

Boston’s new expired food supermarket.

I’d shop there in a heartbeat.

Odd that it was started by a former Trader Joe’s exec, and TJ’s is owned by Aldi, the most wasteful market I know of.

In France, they have just made a ruling that supermarkets cannot throw out food. I assume there is a collection and distribution system for the “expired” food.

I eat expired food all the time. In the cabinets, I have cans that are several years old, etc. Things like pasta, I don’t even look at the expiration dates as, to me, pasta is the same after you boil it whether you bought the box yesterday or two years ago.

I think in the case of the food pantries that don’t permit expired food, they’re afraid of the liability issue, since many people now are sue-happy. Sue for this, sue for that. We got sick after eating something we got from your food pantry! We’re suing!

I’d be interested in documentation of that, @janbb.
My genuine interest.
There, I got it for you.

Enforcement is the only thing I have a problem with there.

@ibstubro I wonder if much of that food can go to feed the hoards from Syria. It would be a perfect use. Except shipping might be a problem.

@Squeeky will likely have similar numbers but here a 53 ft reefer will cost you about $3 per mile all in. That is a bargain rate from a broker. Of course that rate varies by expected traffic, roads, pickup and drop off assistance, fuel surcharge, whether the truck is returning empty, consolidated loads, total distance… You get the idea.
Fule is more expensive in the EU. Let’s figure Paris to Budapest .
Googling….. 14 hours 1485 km. Call it 1000 miles… call fuel surcharge an extra $2 on top of $3 per mile…..
My back of the envelope calculation is $5000 to ship 40 tons of food from Paris to Budapest using a reefer. Rail is much cheaper but, I am not familiar with that cost structure.

Is there really that much waste? If true the store prices must be very high.

@ibstubro That’s interesting that you say Aldi is wasteful. Here in the UK Aldi is the only supermarket I know that doesn’t put a date on their fresh fruit and veg packets. So if it looks ok, it gets sold and if it’s mouldy it gets discarded. The other big supermarkets put best before dates on all packaged fruit and veg so consumers then throw them out at that date without having the sense to realise that if they look fine then they are still edible.

At my Aldi in the Midwest I’ve driven up to the dumpster and seen it heaped with cases of food that are perfectly usable, but past the freshness date, @Stinley. I try not to look because on more than one occasion I have loaded the car and started out on my own little food pantry trip.

It might be a conflict with German and American laws. Perhaps they just haven’t reconciled food the US government frowns on them selling and what to do with it.

I have noticed them marking some expiring produce down lately. Maybe they’re getting a handle on it.

Past its peak pantry party!

I never see marked down products in my local store and have been caught a couple of times and bought something very close to its use by date and have it go off before I use it. I’ve never checked their bins though!

It sondseems just as appetizing as “junkie tomato soup” recipe= boiling water and ketchup.

That’s Lucille Ball’s recipe, @keobooks! From the Automat episode.

Yeah one time I was hunting empty boxes and pulled up to the Aldi dumpster. I remember that I loaded 2–3 flats of button mushrooms and a flat or 2 of green peppers. All told I loaded probably 8 flats of produce. Passed them out to 5–7 families and still sauteed and froze a number of boxes of mushrooms.
Now I try not to look that direction.
I bought Portabella mushrooms marked down a couple of weeks ago. The problem? They charged me full price and I had bought a few because they were so cheap. That trip the bill was $14.41 and by the time the adjusted the prices of all the items I had bought? $8.10 refund.
If @LuckyGuy lived near me, his grocery bill would be under $5 a week, and he’d eat like a prince! lol

@ibstubro You and I definitelly need to go out for dinner some time!

Fix dinner some time, @LuckyGuy.

Delicious Soup Kitchen.

We need to coordinate on using expired food.