The Old Folks Home

[Cynthia12]

Sarah's Easy split Pea Soup (modified from a recipe from Allrecipes)

1 lb dried split peas
6-8 C chicken broth
cut up carrots
Olive Oil
Minced Garlic (I use pre packaged)
Onion (I only had dried, minced)
McCormick Vegetable Supreme Buttery Herb seasoning.
Salt and Pepper to taste
Shredded cheese for garnish (cheddar is yummy!)
Crusty bread and butter to go with it


Lightly brown minced garlic and onion in olive oil in bottom of soup pot. Add broth and peas (after picking through and rinsing them). Cut up carrots and add. Simmer over low heat for an hour or more, or as long as it takes for the peas to soften, stirring every 15 min or so. You can puree the pees in a blender to make them soft sooner, but I like to cook them for a long time. I seasoned with McCormick but use whatever suits you.

*Feel free to add a ham hock, ham, chicken, or sausage. Potatoes would be good, too.

*Directions said to only cook the peas for half an hour, but this was not nearly enough time, in my opinion. I ended up cooking this soup for several hours over low heat. The peas started falling apart and really thickened the soup up nicely.

I used generic 'brands' of peas, minced onions, and broth.

This sounds yummmy and easy..I like easy these days..and ham bits it is!

 

[ducklucky]

Really, you've never had split pea soup!? Guess it could be more of an Eastern regional thing, or cold weather states. It is super yummy, freezes well and a good comfort food, also real inexpensive to make, and with fresh bread and BUTTER, mmmm. Think I'll make me a pot right now! If you find a bag of split peas at your market, there is usually a recipe right on the bag. This is also a good crock pot soup, throw it all together on low in AM and it will be ready for supper, it IS better when cooked longer, and even more better the next day, add more liquids if it gets too thick. Use what you like in there, throw in carrots, celery, onions, garlic, whatever, many variations. We love to put a ham hock or 2 in ours for extra flavor, and like to pick on the hocks and give the rest to the chickens. It will get thicker each time you reheat, just add some chix broth or water, and it is super good if you put a dollop of sour cream on the bowl when serving. Off to the kitchen I go!

 

[Kansaseq]

Yea, what ducklucky said!!!

 

[Stumpy]

Well, it sounds good and I'd like to try it. One of my favorite television series is Morse, a British detective series about Detective Morse and his co-worker, Lewis. Morse had a habit of telling Lewis to drop everything at a moment's notice to do his bidding. One day Morse did this right before lunchtime and Lewis replied, "But they're having split pea soup today!"

 

[Arielle]

Haahaa--

Pea Soup is so popular that there are MANY recipes. Even my SIL makes hers different than I do.

I taught my kids this simple version.

Leftover ham bone with some meat on
Add 1 pound of splitpeas
COver in water plus 2-3 inches more
Chop one large onion.

Gently boil until peas tender and meat falls off the bone. Adjust the salt if necessary.


SIL adds carrots. Still pretty simple.

CAT--welcome. My DH likes having chickens too.

 

[7 Biddies]

I wonder if pea soup is a regional thing. I've never tasted it, seen it, been served it, etc. I absolutely love bread, but I like butter with it, unfortunately!

Butter's fine. It's margarine that'll kill you. Stay away from processed foods and you won't have to worry about fats, carbs, or calories. Read In Defense of Food: an Eater's Manifesto for the whole story.

7 Biddies ... spreading the gospel of real food since 1972.

 

[7 Biddies]

Speaking of good soups, or cooking dried peas, I just made a batch of Cuban Black Beans, putting about half in the freezer. (Living alone makes cooking tough, sometimes) Served with some lightly rinsed (the Cuban way) chopped onion and rice, it's yummola! Got the recipe from a Cuban lady in Miami. Can't wait for lunch!!

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Love it BIddy!!! I went marg free so many years ago I can't remember!!! OVer 20 for sure . . took DH a while longer to get on board. Kids have never had margarine, only butter. Finely ground grains are a problem too. I try to limit kids to 2 servings a day. Need room for all the really good stuff. We eat mostly whole foods--makes for little prep time, too.

 

[Stumpy]

Butter's fine. It's margarine that'll kill you.

Funny you should mention that. I used to go to a doctor who was thorough and unconventional. One of the first things he did was give me a paper on margarine and corn oil. It showed that heart disease didn't exist in Alaska until after traditional American grocery stores moved into the area in the 1950's. I was thinking in terms of avoiding butter because I am so overweight, but I should be avoiding a lot of other things, too.

 

[mickey328]

Butter does have some "issues" but at least it's a natural product and your body knows what to do with it. Other things have been so "processed" from stuff like petroleum that your body just doesn't have a clue as to how to utilize it! I even wonder sometimes about the butter you buy at the store. I made some of my own a week or so ago and it's very different...tastes about the same but it melts faster and gets hard as rocks in the fridge, unlike the stuff you buy.