Everyone is hitting their pantry. I’m guilty of neglecting dried fruit (although dried apricots are not around long) and dried split green peas. The Spring garlic from the garden is perfect for harvesting now before it jumps into its May growth spurt. Then the garlic shoots become too woody, forcing us to wait for scapes in June and fresh dug bulbs in July.
This soup doesn’t get any easier. It’s a throw-it-all-in-one-pot-stick-to-your-guts-comfort-meal-in-a-bowl. Lewis commented that it was quite bland. Probably why it’s usually served with flavored croutons. I used to throw a whole dried New Mexico chile into the pot but Lewis can’t handle the heat anymore. So, since Monsieur Lewis doesn’t like croutons, I baked up some drop biscuits for him. To jazz up the soup one could chop the vegetables finer, slather them in oil and roast or saute until caramelized but that would defeat the purpose of this soup. What about a drizzle of olive oil on top when serving. We’ll forgo the ham hock no matter what.
- 4 cups, dried split green peas, picked through, washed and drained
- 1 onion, peeled and quartered
- 2 carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 2 celery stalks, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 cups water, plus more as needed
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- Place all of the ingredients into a large pot.
- Bring the liquid up to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 1½ hours. The peas should be very soft and falling apart.
- Puree with a handheld blender until smooth.
- Serve hot with croutons or biscuits.
If you leave out the onion and garlic, you’ll have homemade baby food. I’ll find out how it freezes in small amounts when my first grandchild arrives next month!!! It’s a boy, due May 22nd. K & E are finishing up their semesters of teaching and taking classes. Kendra is getting her comps done just under the wire. She looks fabulous and the two of them are in baby heaven. There are 2 more babies due in our sphere the next month. A wonderful distraction.
This end of April is concluding with more rain and cooler temperatures than I anticipated. I did get to sit outside yesterday with the birds. Goldfinches, sparrows, red-winged blackbirds, chickadees, robins, doves, cardinals, titmice, junkos, bluebirds, red-tailed hawks, starlings (ugh), woodpeckers.
I really miss fostering kittens and wonder how everyone at Upper Bucks SPCA is doing. I know they stopped sterilizing feral cats; don’t know if they are fostering the 200 kittens that usually pass through each month during kitten season – which is now! My first bunch, the ones born in the kids’ old bedroom, remain my favorite. Just found this photo while organizing files.
Hope you are all well and staying safe. I’m at the stage, just past denial that fluctuates over to horror and then retreats back, to where I burst into tears over some little thing, a story of someone doing something minimal but heroic.
Let me know what you cooked up from something you found in the back of your pantry.
XO
Sheila
