Ham with Mustard Tamari (soy) Sauce

Happy Tuesday!  I was a very productive gal today.  This is a big deal because ... I woke up exhausted this morning.  After seven hours of sleep ... I felt like I'd barely gotten 3 hours.  I finally woke up after about 3 hours at the office.  Then this afternoon, during my productivity, I sat too long in one position.   Pain from my right rib in back down into my hip and then the outside of my thigh.  I could feel a little pain below the knee but for the most part it ended at the knee.  The pain was severe enough that I didn't square dance tonight.  Bummer!  Seriously, I was disappointed that I didn't feel okay to dance.  I've spent some time this evening researching how to relieve sciatic pain.  Apparently there are two types of pain:  true sciatica pain caused by the nerve being "pinched" by the disc and piriformis caused by the muscle tightening around or touching the nerve.  I'm going to try stretching and see if that helps.

On to the more fun stuff!  I baked a ham on Sunday.  I know!  It's Tuesday and there's no recipe posted yet.  Bad me!  I love  (love, love, love!) ham, especially smoked picnic ham.  So this gets 5 wing flaps even without the sauce.  I made a Mustard Tamari (wheat-free soy) Sauce.  The sauce is finger-licking yummy.  The juice from the fresh ginger added a whole 'nother dimension to the sauce.  Don't skip the notes at the end. 

Finished ham.  Look how shiny!

Smoked Picnic Ham  with Mustard Tamari Sauce

1 Smoked picnic ham (mine was 8#)

1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
3 tablespoons Tamari sauce
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
4 drops Splenda
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 teaspoons juice from fresh ginger (I was trying for grated ginger but all I got was juice so I went with it)

Sauce:  stir all ingredients together.  Baste ham with it.

Start with a smoked picnic ham.  Place it in a pan with a lip (I used a 9x13 glass baking dish lined with foil).  Bake, covered with foil, at 325F for 20 minutes per pound (follow instructions on outside of packaging).  

When the ham is 2/3 of the way done, take it out of the oven.    Remove the skin and top layer of fat.  Score the top with cross hatches.  Pour or brush some of the sauce onto the ham.   You want to get the sauce into the crevices you just made.  

Put the ham back into the oven at 225F until fully cooked.  Basted it every 10 minutes or so.  Remove from oven.  Let sit for a bit.  Save the juices for a later use.  Carve and eat your fill!

Notes:

1.  Most recipes say "put ham skin side down to start."  My ham has skin on all sides so that instruction is a FAIL for me.  I cook mine with the fattiest side up.  That way the melting fat seeps into the body of the ham.

2.  You can add the sauce at the beginning.  Your choice.  If you do, you might try poking holes into the ham so the sauce permeates the ham.

3.  I've never made a "glaze" - which I believe involved reducing the liquid to a thick and sticky liquid - so I stuck with what I know:  a sauce.  :-)  This sauce was finger-licking good.

Nutritional Information for the entire recipe of sauce:

Carbs:  10.33g (63%)

Protein:  6.14g (37%)

Fat:  .43g (0%)

Calories:  64

Nutritional Information for the ham:  see packaging on your ham.

Cauliflower & Ham Salad

Happy Monday!  Did you survive with all of your hair still in your head?  Or did you pull some out? LOL It was a day today!  Tomorrow will be even busier.  I prepared a new entree when I got home.  Ready for it?  Cauliflower & Ham Salad.  

It's a cold dish - perfect for summer.  It was pretty easy to put together. The most challenging part was draining the cauliflower.  I was in a hurry so I micro waived it then drained it.  Next time, I will probably roast it.  That should eliminate the need to drain the cauliflower.  Oh, as for the "cubed ham," my local store (the one and only AWESOME Publix) carries Hormel cubed ham in the butcher/meat section (not with the lunch or canned meats).  Even before chilling this recipe, I snuck a bite.  It was absolutely delicious!  The sauce has some sweet-n-spicy action going on.  It bursts in my mouth.  I give it 5 wing flaps!!

I started with one of Linda's recipes:  here.  I made changes based upon what I had on hand.  I omitted the onion because ... I don't care for raw onions and I was not in an oniony mood.  I don't do pepper much either so I left it out.  With the sweet relish, I might omit the Splenda next time.  I absolutely LOVE (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!) Jane's Krazy Mixed-Up Salt.  It has salt, herbs & spices, dehydrated onion, and dehydrated garlic.  

Cauliflower & Ham Salad
7 oz cauliflower, cut into bite-size pieces (I used frozen cauliflower)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1.5 tablespoons sugar free sweet pickle relish
1 tablespoon spicy mustard
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
3/4 teaspoon Jane's Krazy Mixed Up Salt
1/2 tablespoon granular Splenda or 2 drops liquid Splenda
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
4 ounce ham cubes
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped in large pieces

Place the cauliflower in a large bowl.  Microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes.  Drain and microwave on high 2 more minutes.   Cook until the cauliflower is slightly tender and not mushy; drain off any excess water.  Let it cool to room temperature before adding the remaining ingredients.  After it's cooled, squeeze additional water out of the cauliflower.   I used paper towels. Alternate: roast the cauliflower instead of microwaving it.

Meanwhile, mix the mayonnaise, relish, mustard, parsley, salt, and sweetener.  When the cauliflower has cooled, add the dressing and gently toss to coat.  Stir in the tomatoes, ham  (if you use pre-packaged cubed ham squeeze some water out with a paper towel), and eggs.  Cover and chill at least 3 hours.  The longer you let it sit, the more the flavors meld.

Nutritional Information for the entire recipe:

Carbs:  16.13 (7%)

Protein:  17.69 (8%)

Fat:  83.58 (85%)

Calories:  950