I absolutely LOVE split pea soup! The kind that's made with a well-picked-off ham bone. My neighbor doesn't favor it and my nephew, who is an excellent "from-scratch" cook politely turned me down, claiming not to be a fan of pea soup. Oh, well...all the more for me! Actually I offered to swap a taste of mine for a taste of his roasted butternut squash soup but it was not to be.
I think I love it so much because of my first day at school. I remember that day very well, down to the tiniest details. You see, I didn't want to go. I was being the obstinate child that appeared often in those days. Mother took me by the hand we marched out the door and down the road anyway, with me protesting, even though I had my favorite pink dress on with the little white flowers and was wearing my turned down cuff Sunday School socks with the pink stripes. By the way, the dress was made from chicken feed sacks.
We walked the mile, yes it's like you hear, but we DID - and the teacher greeted us at the classroom door. She was very pleasant and smelled nice. I clung to Mother's skirts and wailed. Finally, after a promise from her that we would have split pea soup for lunch I relented and became a kindergartner with high hopes to just get through the four hours and have that wonderful treat as soon as Mother came for me and we could walk the long mile back.
Who would have thought peas could appease so well? That soup would be considered a TREAT?
Wonder what she did with my 2 year old brother when she was doing all that walking and preparing my soup? The promise was kept and who would know that it is remembered so well 70 years later!
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Pea Soup
Ham bones cooked in 16 cups water for 7 hours on low setting
Strain/drain ham bones
1 lb dried split peas put into broth
2 cups finely chopped onion put into broth
Simmer 3 hours, stirring often
Serve with warm honey cornbread muffins slathered with butter
I love pea soup and would take it over roasted butternut squash soup in a heart beat.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds delicious to me!!
ReplyDeleteWhat is a split pea? I have never had such, but the ham in soup sounds delicious!! Are they like green peas? I would also love some of that corn bread!!!! My mom used to make corn bread from scratch and I got her recipe and tried it. Mine were a flop. I couldn't get them out of the muffin tin. Mother is 77 now and doesn't cook anymore, and I sure do miss her cornbread and pinto beans!!!!
ReplyDeleteI also really walked a mile to school. I still live where I attended elementary school and one day I took my car and drove the route I walked from first grade through fourth grade. It was actually a mile. I remember one time when we had a tornado, but we didn't know it at our school....we just thought there had been a terrible storm...and it was still raining when school was over. I walked home in the rain, and I took a different route. My parents were driving all over the neighborhoods looking for me, panicking because there had been so much destruction in parts of town. By the time they gave up and came home, I was sitting on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket.
You can find split peas in the grocery store next to the dried beans and such.
Deletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_pea
"Split peas are the dried, peeled and split seeds of Pisum sativum.They are a great source of protein and are also very lean and healthy, with only 1 gram of fat per 350 calories (1,500 kJ) serving. Most of the calories come from protein and complex carbohydrates. The split pea is known to be a natural food source that contains some of the highest amounts of fiber, containing 26 grams of fiber per 100 gram portion (104% DV based on a 2,000 calories (8,400 kJ) diet). Fiber is known to help the digestive system and to make people feel full and satiated.
Green and yellow split peas are commonly used to make pea soup, and sometimes pease pudding, which was commonly prepared in Medieval Europe."