Split Pea Salutation

Gee, have I mentioned that Garrett has been out of town for what feels like an ever-loving eternity quite some time?

Well, guess what? He's coming home tonight and that puts a big, fat smile on this face! He will be travelling pretty much all day today (3 hour drive to the airport, 5 hours on a plane with two stops--eek! that's a lot of take offs and landings!) So I thought it would be nice to welcome him home tonight with a big hearty bowl of split pea soup! And I love this recipe so much I thought I'd share.

You can find the original recipe instructions here and the only modification that I made was that I added some ham because I happened to have some left over. YUM! But it is also quite delicious without the ham, so feel free to omit!

So for starters, the first step in any good soup recipe in my opinion is as follows:

1. Grab Your Favorite Beverage



Mine happened to be a delicious bottle of Apricot Ale, and I'm telling you, it is Nectar of the Gods.

2. Start the Sizzlin'



Saute your onions and garlic with a little Olive Oil, Oregano, Salt and Pepper (the smell is super dreamy!) until the onions are translucent (about 10 mins).

3. Add the Goods



This includes your carrots, potatoes, 3/4 of the split peas you are using (reserving the other 1/4 for later) and of course your stock of choice. This is also where I added my ham.

4. Bring this baby to a boil!



Then go ahead an simmer, uncovered for about 40 minutes and make sure to skim off the "foam" that rises to the surface from the split peas cooking. After about 40 minutes add your remaining split peas. This will give the soup some texture and then of course simmer for another 40 minutes.

*As a total sidebar. Make sure to stir FREQUENTLY otherwise your solids can burn to the bottom of the pan, which makes for icky soup (trust me, I've done it). So just keep skimming and stirring and don't get too sucked in to that riveting episode of Law and Order because burnt soup is No Bueno!

5. Lastly, Enjoy!



And frankly, this is the easiest step. It is a wonderful treat on a cold, winter night and I can't wait to serve it to Garrett this evening after a long day of travel!

Hope you enjoy it as much as we will tonight!