Split Pea Soup

 Today is Wednesday.

It's freezing cold today. I really wanted something homey to warm us all up so I decided on an old staple: split pea soup. Very old- this is my grandma's recipe! My grandma was a simple cook. This is just a simple soup, only to be jazzed up after Easter, when one has a ham bone on hand. Adding the ham bone is so good that I used to fight my (elderly, feeble) great-aunts for it. My mom would have to split it so we could each have some for our split pea soup the following week. Oh Italian women. Don't ask me about the gizzards on Thanksgiving.

Simple, meatless meals like this are what my first-generation Grandma from Sicily had to offer.

 

Grandma B's Split Pea Soup

Ingredients 

1 bag dried peas

8 cups water, chicken stock, vegetable stock, or a combo thereof 

1 tsp. salt, more or less I say more. I doubled. Note on salt below.

1 T. olive oil

1 cup diced carrots, more or less I used 2 big ones.

¼ cup finely chopped onion, more or less I used half a medium one.

½ cup cooked rice, more or less, optional If you have leftover rice, you can freeze it! I keep it on hand for stuffed peppers and recipes like this. Steamed white rice from Chinese take-out works the best. I didn't add any tonight though and it was still delightful. 

1 ham bone, optional

Serve with: crusty bread, crackers, freshly ground pepper, 22 ice cubes per child, etc. 

Instructions 

1) Boil peas in a little water. Add water a little at a time as needed. You can use all water if you want, like Grandma did. I started with water, finished off a quart of chicken stock, then used a whole quart of vegetable stock. I just think stock is more flavorful.

When peas peek over water line, pour some more liquid in.

2) When peas begin to soften, add other ingredients, and continue cooking until peas are thoroughly melted.

3) Optional: Add ham bone with other ingredients. Scrape ham bits off bone. Add to soup.

4) Optional: Add cooked rice when soup is nearly done.  

A good exercise - one my mother taught me early on- is to pour a teaspoon of salt in your hand. Get used to what that amount looks like in your palm. You'll learn how much salt you like in your food this way. When recipes say "salt to taste," you'll be able to palm it. 

Steve, working on his fine motor skills and 14 year-old boy humor.