Happy Birthday Kathy, hope the day goes just great and here's a couple of recipes that you might like. The first one I took to an outdoor picnic last summer and it was a big hit. You don't have to worry about it getting rancid in the heat, either. CORN CHIP CRUNCH INGREDIENTS * 2 bags corn chips (8.75 oz.) * 3 or 4 cups dry roasted peanuts (or any salted nut you prefer) * 6 cups Golden Grahams cereal * 1 cup packed brown sugar * 1 cup dark corn syrup * 1/2 cup butter DIRECTIONS In a large heatproof bowl, combine corn chips, peanuts & Golden Grahams. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup and butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Pour over corn chip mixture; toss to coat evenly. Transfer to a greased 15-in. x 11-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Bake at 250 degrees F for 45 minutes; stirring every 15 minutes. Spread onto waxed paper; cool. Break apart and store in airtight containers. Sweet and salty, shiny & pretty. Easy and different! The other recipe is my Tuna Salad. I noticed you might be tired of your version, Kathy. Try this one. A maid for some really rich people gave me this recipe about 35 years ago and I've made mine this way ever since. And I never have any complaints from others either. Tuna Salad Several Cans Tuna (drained) Finely Chopped Celery Finely Chopped Apple Chopped Sweet Pickle Cubes (not pickle relish!) Mayonnaise to taste The apple gives it the best flavor! Hope you try it. ~tenderlee

Just tossed my christmas ham bone in the soup pot yesterday. I had green peas in my hand but a craving for lentil soup took hold and so lentils it is. I was so hungry for soup I ate almost two quarts between lunch and dinner.... ahh heaven (good thing I was working alone). Last week it was bean soup made with kidney beans and black beans.... with some fresh cayenne peppers. It turns our gray and funny looking because lots of people at work ask me what the hal is that. I don't care it has a hearty smokey peppery taste I like. The slime would probably be bacterial growth. Far as I know it won't hurt you. Beef often has it if stored awhile. Bad bacteria stink like rot... no danger you will accidentally eat it. As noted in a previous post you can just rinse it off. As for my ham... a chunk of lean stuff for sandwiches, the bone in the soup pot yesterday, and fattier chunks went into the freezer for soup later. About 10 pounds of ham in the freezer right now which will be all used up by the end of March. : ) lyra

marys1000 - thanks for the reply even if you can't answer my specific question. I guess we all have the same problem with bones etc. due to the disappearance of small pork butcher/smokehouses. Seems that a "butcher" mostly doesn't exist anymore. Also, as you say, butchering has mostly moved from supermarkets to industry centers. I'm in Connecticut, but I know more about northern New Jersey where they long ago created local ordinances requiring stainless steel walls, ceilings, and specific floors for small local meat processors and smokehouses. These were probably good ideas, but also somewhat aimed at eliminating smoke houses. That's when my pork butcher had to shut down. I'm surprised and disappointed though, that you're in the midwest and the heart of hog country (isn't it?) and even there, you don't have a pork butcher. For soup I've gone to smoked pork hocks, which oddly, are still in local supermarkets. Don't you have these? In Radburn, New Jersey there is still one great place, the Swiss Pork Store, which still has a smokehouse license and still makes everything: hams, bacon, hot dogs, German sausage types, the works. They have fabulous smoked pork butts, big ones. Only problem is, I'm no longer close enough to go very often - used to go every Saturday. Another problem is that you don't see any younger people behind the counter, so who knows about their future. I agree about standard brands sausages.

A fresh "ham" is not what I consider ham. It is very good and it is the same cut of pork, but it is uncured. Ham is cured with spices and smoked. It is considered fully cooked, but it tasted better if you cook it some more. It is sold as a whole ham, a shank ham, or a butt ham. Shank and butt are just describing the pieces after a whole ham is cut in half. Sometimes they cut slices out of the center and sell them as ham steak. The glaze I like is 3/4 cup unsweetened pineapple juice, 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger. Combine all ingredients and use to baste ham. I like to arrange the whole pineapple slices over the top and sides of the ham and then baste with the glaze.