Thursday, November 17, 2011

Ham Loaf

I had my very first ham loaf tonight. Mind you, I DID NOT MAKE it myself. It's actually one of those things that involves meat and my saying for that goes, "Meat does not belong in a loaf." Ham, beef, pork, whatever, meat does not belong in a loaf. Bread belongs in a loaf, not meat. In one of my moments perusing around my local super small town grocery I noticed a rather interesting package in the fresh meat section. This package had three different types of meat, ground up and piled beside each other as if they were piles of silage. They were all different colors and this is how I knew they were different kinds of meat. On the package was a hand written note that said Ham Loaf and included a recipe. Add eggs, bread crumbs, milk, ??? I immediately was disgusted and thought, "That's something I think I would be okay never eating."

Tonight I ate ham loaf. I went to a dinner before a meeting that I was to present at about my role as a Family Nutrition Program Assistant. I knew that a lovely group of older community ladies was making the dinner. In my previous life, when I loved all things common, I would be super excited for this. However, tonight I actually thought about eating before I went so if the food was not an option for my body, I wouldn't starve. I ended up eating a tiny bit before, but still went to the dinner hungry. I then found out that ham loaf is my co-worker's favorite meal and that is why we were eating it. The dinner was great. We had some cheesy potatoes, green beans with bacon, ham loaf, and crescent rolls. So much for pretending to be a vegetarian. The dessert portion was a pumpkin cake mix bar big enough for two people. Yum.

If you've never had ham loaf, I suppose it is something that we should all try once. I have to say that it was actually good. Definitely not something that I will be making on my own or ever suggesting somebody make, but something that I can write about at least. Since dining on this delicacy, I've learned that it is a common food in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country and not really known in the rest of the country. I suppose we must be extra special having the ground meat kit in our local grocery meat section.

Bucket List:
  1. Try Ham Loaf - CHECK!
Have you ever eaten ham loaf? Thoughts?

4 comments:

  1. Haha! That's Nathan's favorite meal, except meatballs instead of a loaf. I'd never heard of it or had it until dinner at his parents' house while we were dating. (I was skeptical, too.)

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  2. Great! I'm glad to hear somebody else being a little skeptical. That would be like an ultimate test of my manners if I was first introduced to the stuff with my date's family. Although I think meatball form would be more tolerable/ appetizing!

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  3. I don't remember Mom ever making it, but know some people served it. I was never as fond of it as meatloaf, maybe cause I was more used to it. I tend to shy away from Ham cause it's so high in natural salt. It you look at what the ladies served, it's the old standby green beans with the bacon and cheezy potatoes are everywhere. I'd be complaining if I was in that group. Each item is high in salt. They would be ideal candidates to teach how to do things differently,,,,nicely. Figure out what the nutrient value of the entire meal was and tell them. Of course people tend to over kill when they have company, which isn't necessary. Get them excited about doing things differently.

    Off my soap box. :)) But it's good that you got the experience of it once at least. :)) Actually, have you had the good chicken salad sandwiches the church ladies make? Well there is also a ham salad sandwich and that one I never did like at all,,,,has pickle relish in it usually. Just didn't sit well.

    csl

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  4. One more thought,,,when people are entertaining, they need to be more aware of who they are entertaining. There are so many special diets these days from low fat, low carbs, low sodium, the diabetics and the ones with low tolerance to certain foods such as gluten. What I would suggest is that the menu is included with the invitation with a phone number they can call if they have any problems with the menu and to call if they need an adjusted menu for health reasons. Especially if they are paying for the meal. Kind of depends on what size group you are dealing with.

    I meant to tell you earlier that I stopped at Wendy's after Drs apptmt last week and found that they have a flat bread grilled chicken sandwich now. The bread is toasted and the chicken is cubed, with what looked like it might be spinach greens, some diced tomatoes and a honey/mustard sauce. Man was it good. I looked on line for the nutrient value, not there yet, so stopped there the next day after second trip to Dr, and asked the mgr if they had the nutrient info and she said, no, they didn't have it yet, so must be very new. They have some other combinations using the flat bread, but think this will be my favorite. I'd sure like to know how they made that bread. Really yummy. csl

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