I'm feeling a little ranty today, because I had to venture out in the Storm of '08 to get a wart frozen off my finger, but I'm, you know, letting it out.
I'm also making soup with a Virginia ham bone so large it won't fit into my biggest stock pot. Which holds several GALLONS. 
1/2 the bone is on the pot, the other half is covered by the foil
The good thing is I can freeze the bone and then flip it over to make broth when I make split pea soup next week. I decided to turn the below into split pea soup so i threw a bag of split peas + some bay leaves and thyme in along with everything else. Tossed in some sliced sausages (a la Nigella), too. Hello? Yum!
When the broth is done, I'm going to throw in a bunch of roots and tubers: sweet potatoes, yukon golds, carrots, and parsnips. I'll also add in some chopped Savoy cabbage and flavor the whole deal with garlic, onions, and parsley. Oh, and shredded ham.
I was in Whole Foods just now picking out the veggies and Wallie managed to pull an entire shopping cart down on top of her. Note to parents: There is a reason why the carts have a picture of a kid riding on the front of the cart with an "X" through it. She's okay largely because: there was nothing in the cart (probably why it was so tippy), it missed her upper body, and as it fell Wallie pushed the cart up and away from her. Strong kid. She was shaken up pretty badly but has no visible signs of trauma. She stopped sobbing as soon as she saw the cheese samples so I know she's fine.
Speaking of Whole Foods:
Dear Whole Foods,
Would it kill you to use some frickin' seasonings in your frickin' food? I have tried to love your pasta salads and roasted veggies and your Indian food bar, but I am tired of having to salt everything just to give it some FLAVOR. Cabbage crunch salad: you had so much potential, but I'm sorry to say we can't be friends anymore. I'm not going to pay $6.99 for bland food that I could make better anymore. (Someone please remind of that the next time I am tempted to buy a flavorless parsnip pancake.)
Saltily yours,
Stefania
If you are the left coast, hope you are staying dry today! Our mail carrier just knocked on our door to borrow our phone because he locked himself out of his mail truck. Poor thing!
