Good Soup to Ease the Pain

So I'm not going to write about the elections at the moment. I need to think of something positive first.

Instead I'll rave about my soup I made tonight! Split Pea and Ham, made from scratch. First time using chicken broth but definitely won't be my last. Only thing I wasn't fond of were the bay leave flakes I added instead of a recommended Bay Leave which is removed at the end, but no biggie there. Still tasted awesome, possibly better than mom's! Here's the recipe, adapted from another website:


Split Pea and Ham Soup

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 1 large russet potato, peeled and diced
• 1 lb ham steak, diced
• 8 cups of chicken broth or vegetable stock
• 1 1lb bag of dried split peas (rinsed)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Cook the onion until slightly tender. Add ham & cook for 60 seconds. Add the broth and split peas to pot and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium low heat for 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Here is just after adding the broth and peas:

Add the carrots, celery and potatoes then cook for an additional 30-45 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Final Product:

The original recipe called for garlic and the bay leave as mentioned, but garlic likes to upset my stomach so I omitted it, and I didn't miss it. Enjoy with Club crackers, they have just the right taste.