Fall has always been on of my favorite times of year. I love the beautiful colors, I loved heading back to school (this is the first fall since I was 2 that I haven't had school!), and I loved the warm filling fall foods!
One of my favorite fall foods is split pea soup. When I was young I remember asking my mom what was for dinner one night. Her answer was "split pea soup." Joyfully I ran towards the kitchen as I screamed "Hooray! Slit-see-poop!" and promptly slipped and displeasure behind the couch. My mother, hearing my strange exclamation looked to see me and couldn't find me anywhere. When I told my husband, he found my clumsiness hilarious, and slit-see-poop has been our family pet name for this warm favorite ever since!
So here is my recipe for one of my fall favorites.
Split Pea Soup
Ingredients
2 onions, chopped
3-4 carrots, sliced
3-4 stalks of celery, sliced
2 potatoes, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
2 bay leaves
2 pounds dried split peas, washed and sorted
16 cups of water
salt and pepper
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. cumin
- Heat oil over medium heat in a stock pot. Add onions, carrots, garlic, and celery and saute until onions are soft.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil, keeping the lid on the pot. Cook about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peas and vegetables are quite soft. Remove lid and let some of the water evaporate until it looks creamy like a typical pea soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. Note: Don't be skimpy on the salt. Both the peas and the potatoes with absorb the salt. Add enough that it tastes good. I probably added about a Tablespoon.
- Serve with warm bread or cornbread.
- Enjoy!
Note: This recipe can be adapted to make curried split pea soup be omitting the bay leaves and other spices and adding 1 Tbsp. of curry powder. This is also delicious!
