Soup Day

Hanging out in the backyard with our resident groundhog wasn’t an option today. It was cold and rainy here in Bucks County. 

Soup Day!

Pea Soup.  Rich and creamy, with the smoky, salty taste of ham,  served with seasoned croutons browned in butter or olive oil, pea soup is definitely a comfort food favorite for many, especially on a nasty day.

Fortunately, I had all the ingredients including a meaty ham bone that I stuck in the freezer after Easter dinner.  But of course this pea soup was going to be just for me so the ham bone stayed frozen and I assembled and chopped what the celebrity chefs on the food network always call the “holy trinity”: celery, onions and carrots.  Since frying was out, I  emptied the chop block into my well-seasoned cast iron pan that had been heating on medium high while I was chopping.  It took about ten minutes and a lot of spatula use to get the veggies to acquire a toasted look and aroma.  Perfect for that smoky flavor I wanted.

Next came about six cups of water, a cup of yellow split peas, additional carrots and celery, garlic cloves, a couple of bay leaves, a little cayenne pepper, black pepper.  I let     the soup simmer for a while before I gave it a taste test.  It was palatable but very bland.  I considered adding a shot of Tabasco Sauce but decided it would be too vinegary.  But there right above the Tabasco bottle was  a jar of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.  And before I could say EUREKA!, a couple of whole pepper were chopped and in the soup along with a spoonful of adobo sauce.  The pieces of pepper looked like bacon bits.  At this point, a good amount of the liquid was lost to evaporation and not wanting to dilute the soup with plain water, I poured in a cup full of brown rice milk that I had made a few days ago to use on my morning oatmeal.  Now it was way past lunch and I was very hungry, so after letting the soup simmer for five more minutes, I ladled out a bowl full.  Not bad.  Next time I’ll be sure to make croutons to go with the soup.

To recap, here’s the list of ingredients I used

6 cups water

1 cup yellow split peas

5 celery stalks, chopped

5 carrots, scraped and chopped

2 garlic cloves

2 large bay leaves

cayenne pepper

black pepper

2 chipotle peppers, chopped

1 spoonful adobo sauce