Foodie Friday- Warming up with Split Pea & Ham Soup

 The other morning we woke up to this, 6 inches of white fluff after a night of blowing snow at almost whiteout conditions. Two days prior the temps had been at 66 degrees, sheesh! I just happened to bring a bag of split peas to my mother-in-laws', already knowing that it would cool down for a day or two, so I was able to satisfy my hankering for split pea and ham soup. We had an over abundance of ham left over from the funeral, and gave away as much as possible, fed the troops with more, and still had a bit to use up. I waited a week as I didn't want us to suffer from ham overload, we already have enough hams in our family.

Here's a recipe I created from browsing other recipes and reaching into my memory bank of watching my mom and stepmom, both excellent cooks. I had to make a substitution or two as my mother-in-law doesn't keep much in the way of herbs and spices around. It's easy and quick to get started. I must say, this came out sooooo yummy and is the perfect comfort food on a cold and stormy day. Serve with crusty french bread, fresh fruit and you have a meal to live for!

SPLIT PEA & HAM SOUP

2 cups dried split peas, sorted and rinsed

1 ham bone, if available

2 cups diced ham - use good quality ham, not the cheap stuff

1 medium onion, diced

2 large peeled and coin sliced carrots, quartering the larger coins

3 stalks of celery, diced

2-3 tablespoons of EVOO or extra virgin olive oil

1 quart chicken stock + 1 quart water

1 teaspoon each thyme, tarragon or mint, lemon pepper

1 bay leaf

2 dashes cayenne pepper  and a dash of seasoning salt if needed 

In a large soup pot over medium heat add olive oil and veggies, cook until tender. Add ham and bone and cook for 5 minutes more. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to a simmer and let soup bubble gently until the peas break down, about an hour or so. The soup should be somewhat thick when stirred, but not gloppy, yes that's a word. :-) Taste to see if you need any seasonings, and serve with warm bread and fresh fruit. Serves 6-8. Enjoy!

Springtime Asian Style Bean and Ham Soup

Nature guy and I are heading to the temple with Annie this morning, but we wanted to make sure Mom and Dad had good food to eat today so I threw together a healthy and tasty soup this morning. I was the recipient of a bag of Asian veggies and they need to be used so I created an East meets West sort of soup perfect for a rainy day. This is a good time of year to get those spring time veggies started such as bok choy, spinach, carrots and so on.

I started off with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, heated up over medium heat in my soup pot. I then added 2 cups of diced ham, 1 very large onion, chopped, and 2 cups chopped cabbage., and 3 peeled and coined carrots. I cooked them until the vegetables were tender. I then added 1 inch of peeled, grated ginger and 4 crushed garlic cloves.

I also added to large bok choy leaves and stalks, chopped and 1 and 1/2 quarts, or 6 cups of water. To that I added 2 chicken bullion cubes and 1/3 cup barley.

 

I let that simmer until the barley was almost done and then added 3 cups chopped spinach and 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon pepper. To that I added two 16 oz. cans of great northern beans, draining only one can. Here's the finished result! Just an FYI, don't leave out the lemon pepper, it really rounds out the flavor of this soup. I've listed the ingredients below. Let me know if you try this.

 

 Springtime Asian Style Bean and Ham Soup

2 T. Olive oil

2 cups diced ham

2 cups chopped cabbage

3 carrots, peeled and coined

I very large onion, chopped

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated

3 garlic cloves, crushed

6 cups water

2 chicken bullion cubes

2 bok choy leaves with stalks, chopped

3 cups chopped spinach

2 - 16 oz cans great northern beans, drain one only

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon pepper