Soup of the Day

My female coworkers and I spend a lot of time talking about food - food we've had at restaurants, food we've cooked, the nutritional facts of food...you name it, we cover it. So much so, in fact, that when we hired our newest gal in September, I joked with our office manager that it had to be a job requirement that the new girl liked to talk about food and cooking and eating.

When that same office manager said last week that she had split pea soup in the Crock Pot, my ears perked up. To be honest, I've never had split pea soup, but I like peas and I like soup so I figured we wouldn't be too far off the mark here. I asked her for the recipe. And as it was a disgusting, rainy day here, I thought it would be nice to have some hot soup for dinner. 

Begin by dicing one cup of bacon, one onion, one large carrot (we used baby carrots since that's what we had), two garlic cloves, and 2 potatoes. It's my experience that cooking goes better when you do all your prep work first. You would think that's common sense, but I've actually had to learn that the hard way.

Anyway, once that's done, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large soup pot. Add bacon, onion and carrots and cook until the onions are completely wilted. Add potatoes, garlic, 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme, a bay leaf, 1.5 cups of split green peas, and salt and pepper. Add seven cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low boil, put a lid half over the pot, and cook for 45 minutes until peas and potatoes are soft.

Remove soup from burner, remove bay leaf (I forgot to do this...), then puree the soup to your consistency of choice with an immersion blender.

Eat, and enjoy! This soup didn't disappoint. It was hearty and savory and generally delicious. It made plenty of leftovers, and should reheat well. If you're looking for a recipe to make your winter days warmer, give this soup a try!

Amanda's Split Pea Soup

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced bacon
1 onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced (we used baby carrots)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme (or 2 teaspoons dried thyme)
2-3 teaspoons salt
black pepper
1 bay leaf
2 potatoes, cubed
1 1/2 cups dried split peas
7 cups of water

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Add bacon, onion and carrots and cook, stirring until onions are wilted.
Add garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, bay leaf, potatoes and split peas.
Pour in water and bring to a boil, then reduce to a very low boil.
Put a lid sideways on the pot so steam can escape, and allow to cook for 45 minutes.
Remove from heat, and take out bay leaf.
Use an immersion blender to blend soup to desired consistency. Add salt and pepper if needed.
Serve and enjoy!