Christmas Ham, Forever and Ever, Amen.

The ham was a gift. A most generous gift for which mi esposo and I are deeply grateful. But in case you haven't visited a barnyard lately, allow me to tell you that a swine is a big creature. They are like ponies that kids can't ride. I mean, we're talking big here, people. So the gift of a half ham is almost an embarrassment of riches.

Ham, although cured, does have a shelf life, which meant that after it appeared on my kitchen counter, I had to decide what to do with it, pronto, else shamefully waste this most generous gift. But what to do? Other family members had already made arrangements for other entrees for the holiday, so, alas, the ham would not be Christmas dinner. I wondered, should I have a New Years Party and share the happiness of a big, glazed ham? Should I portion it out and freeze it, saving some of it in-house for those times when the grocery budget is lean and then also give away some of the ham to others who might benefit?

I mentioned my dilemma to my sister. She said, "You do know what the definition of eternity is, don't you??"

"No..." I took the bait.

"Two people and a ham."

Ooof. Thanks for the assistance, sis.

I ultimately decided to go with portioning it out to share and save. But my sister is right. If I kept every bit of that ham for just the two of us, we would have about 11+ weeks of ham, assuming one ham dinner and one ham lunch. The "plus" is the ham bone which would yield another few meals with a hearty soup or stew.

More than cameras, magazine subscriptions, or jokes of questionable taste, it's HAM!
HAM is the gift that keeps on giving!