DINNER!
So, I usually make split pea and ham soup like this:
1 lb bag dried split peas
Quart low fat, low sodium chicken broth
10 oz bag frozen mirepoix blend (diced carrots, onion, celery)
8oz bag diced ham
Spice Islands Herbes de Provence blend to taste (somewhere between one and two tablespoons for me)
Drop it all in a pot, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until the peas are starting to break down, which always takes about 10 to 20 minutes longer than the bag they came in says.
It turns out I might be using the Spice Islands Herbes de Provence at a pretty good clip, because the cupboard was bare of fine savory spice this weekend, leaving only the molto italiano, TexMex Chipotle Chili ($8 a bottle! I'm still aghast that they charged it and I paid it) and...curry.
Hmmm.
Long story short, split pea and ham soup season with somewhere between one and two and half tablespoons of garlic powder, curry powder and black pepper is pretty darned good. I may leave out the ham next time, because I have this picture of all the major curry-using cultures being vegetarian or keeping halal, or I might try this recipe by Alton Brown, but mine more perfectly epitomizes the all-American concept of laziness convenience in the kitchen and because for a minute there, I actually thought I'd discovered a new taste sensation and not something other cultures have most likely been doing since the domestication of the pea and discovery of curry.
Plus, I have yet to kick my pig-eating ways because...bacon.
1 lb bag dried split peas
Quart low fat, low sodium chicken broth
10 oz bag frozen mirepoix blend (diced carrots, onion, celery)
8oz bag diced ham
Spice Islands Herbes de Provence blend to taste (somewhere between one and two tablespoons for me)
Drop it all in a pot, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until the peas are starting to break down, which always takes about 10 to 20 minutes longer than the bag they came in says.
It turns out I might be using the Spice Islands Herbes de Provence at a pretty good clip, because the cupboard was bare of fine savory spice this weekend, leaving only the molto italiano, TexMex Chipotle Chili ($8 a bottle! I'm still aghast that they charged it and I paid it) and...curry.
Hmmm.
Long story short, split pea and ham soup season with somewhere between one and two and half tablespoons of garlic powder, curry powder and black pepper is pretty darned good. I may leave out the ham next time, because I have this picture of all the major curry-using cultures being vegetarian or keeping halal, or I might try this recipe by Alton Brown, but mine more perfectly epitomizes the all-American concept of laziness convenience in the kitchen and because for a minute there, I actually thought I'd discovered a new taste sensation and not something other cultures have most likely been doing since the domestication of the pea and discovery of curry.
Plus, I have yet to kick my pig-eating ways because...bacon.