Split Pea Soup (Quicker Cooking Time)

It's soup weather, or it will be soon! It's November after all, and they keep saying the rain is coming! (I'm still waiting for it to show up. But other than the fact that I know we need rain, I don't mind the sunny days in the meantime!)

Here is one of my favorite soup recipes, updated to have a much quicker cook-time:

I discovered that if you SOAK your split peas in a large bowl with water, for a couple of hours before cooking them (and drain and rinse before adding to the soup pot), you can make a split pea soup in less than half the time!! My latest batch was ready after simmering for  about 1 hr -- which I consider a major improvement!
If you are looking for a really quick soup, check out this one or this one.

Split Pea Soup

Split pea soup simmering on my stove.

1 onion, chopped

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

3-6 carrots, cut however you like (I slice in thin circles)

Any other soup worthy vegetables - I sometimes use potatoes, celery, kishuim, and more

1 kg split peas, picked over and pre-soaked
boiling water to fill the pot - it's best if the water is filtered if you live in an area with hard water. Filtered water significantly reduces cooking time

salt, pepper, dill, parsley 



Place onion, garlic, and vegetables in the pot, then add LOTS of water from that you already boiled in your kettle (preferably filtered water - this reduces cooking time, too!). I find starting with the water already hot helps a lot to reduce cooking time Turn the burner to high. Drain and rinse the split peas you pre-soaked, and then add them to the pot.
Bring the pot to a boil, and then turn down the flame.

Simmer, covered, until it's fully cooked...stir occasionally, and add water as needed... Skim the top as needed, too.
(You'll know it's done when the split peas have all gone soft and it's the perfect texture. If your split peas are still too hard, you're not done cooking it. Just keep going!)
Add seasonings and cook for 10 minutes more.

Enjoy!

Split Pea Soup

It's soup weather.

It suddenly got cold out, or rather, just chilly. In our part of the country cold and chilly are the same. No, we aren't going to have a snowstorm in the Emeq, as far as I can tell, but we ARE having a whole lot of rain, wind, thunder, and lightning. It's about time we changed over our wardrobes (even my 14 yr old reluctantly put on long pants this a.m.! He thinks shorts are appropriate attire well into December, so that's saying a lot.), and pulled out the down comforters!


And here, in our house, where I only run the heat when absolutely necessary, that means eating lots of soup and drinking lots of tea.


Here is one of my favorite soup recipes:


Be warned, however, this is NOT a quick soup. This soup needs 3-5 hrs to cook fully.

UPDATE: I discovered that if you SOAK your split peas in a large bowl with water, for a couple of hours before cooking them (and drain and rinse before adding to the soup pot), you can make a split pea soup in less than half the time!! My latest batch was ready after simmering for about 1 hr -- which I consider a major improvement!

If you are looking for a really quick soup, check out this one or this one.


Split Pea Soup






Split pea soup simmering on my stove.



1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

3-6 carrots, cut however you like (I slice in thin circles)

Any other soup worthy vegetables - I sometimes use potatoes, celery, kishuim, and more

1 kg split peas, picked over and rinsed

water or soup stock to fill the pot

salt, pepper, dill, parsley

1-2 Tablespoons olive oil


Heat olive oil in your (large) soup pot

Add onion, garlic, and vegetables. Cook, stirring frequently, till onion is limp, maybe even a bit browned.

Add water or soup stock, and split peas.

Bring to a boil

Add seasonings

Simmer until it's fully cooked...stir occasionally, and add water as needed...

(You'll know it's done when the split peas have all gone soft and it's the perfect texture. If your split peas are still too hard, you're not done cooking it. Just keep going!)


Enjoy!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

It has been so rainy here. It is absolutely incredible. Last November there was barely any rain (well, probably a little - I don't remember when exactly that incredible storm knocked over the tree in our landlord's yard!), and this past week, we have had one storm after another. Maybe I should put this up in more detail on my defunct-for-now "Northern Lights" blog! That would be an idea, don't you think?

Anyhow, I was inspired by a friend to consider foraging as a food option. There seem to be all sorts of weeds and wild plants sprouting, and rumor has it, tons of plants are... EDIBLE!

So I'm wondering, how many of you ever pick wild plants and eat them? How do YOU know what's edible and what's toxic? (and how are you sure?)

I'd love to basically avoid grocery shopping this week, except for a few things I thought of picking up for our ex-pat Thanksgiving celebration. I think I will push off my order from the health food store for another week - that 250 NIS minimum order for delivery is overwhelming me, as I don't have such a long list of staples I buy from the health food store right now (sadly, as I used to be a Whole Foods and Trader Joe's junkie, but it's just not feasible for us right now).

So - back to menus!

Tonight's Menu:

Split Pea Soup

Baked Potatoes

Crustless Roasted Vegetable Quiche - quick recipe: chop (as large or small as you want) your favorite vegetables (I'm using red peppers, kishuim, onions, garlic, and all the sad looking tomatoes from last week) and roast in the oven till browned (with olive oil and sea salt). You will need to roast a LOT of vegetables, they shrink in the oven! Fill up your quiche pans or casserole dish. Make a custard of eggs, milk, and spices (add gevinah levanah for an Israeli twist). Pour over veggies, top with cheese. Bake at 375 F till it's browned and done.

Pomelit

Sunday Night, Feb. 20, 2011

It's so gray and dreary out - looks like rain. I know we need the rain, and I'm looking forward to lots of it - I just prefer that it rain at night...

Anyhow, this rain is making me think of split pea soup - one of my favorites. And I just discovered another bag of split peas tucked into a corner of my freezer (yes, I keep all my grains and legumes and flours in the freezer (I have a BIG freezer!). A lesson learned in Texas after one too many bug infestations...).

Here's what we'll be eating tonight, keeping in mind all those foods I have to use up:

Split pea soup - onions, garlic, celery, and carrots sauteed in olive oil, cover the pot and cook over low for another 10 min. Add split peas and soup stock. Season to taste. Bring to a boil and then simmer for at least 1 hour, or till thoroughly cooked.

Pasta Alfredo with steamed broccoli

Roasted Onions, Tomatoes, and Zucchini with Basil - if this was just for me, I'd roast them all together. But I have to keep in mind the picky kids, and I'm actually going to roast each vegetable on its own. Then they can be eaten individually or mixed together. It's really not much extra work - just a couple of extra pans to wash, and if it gets the kids to eat, its worth it!

Chocolate Cupcakes (leftover from Shabbat!)

Are you working on clearing out your pantry yet? Please let me know!

Wednesday night - Feb. 9, 2011

I'm very disappointed with this week's grocery sales. Have you found any good sales lately? I have a Rami Levy, Yesh, Mega, Kimat Chinam and Supersol near me...

Luckily, I still have plenty of produce in the fridge. Time to get creative! I'm not sure my family likes it when I get creative, since that means they have to try new things. But that's the point, so they try new things! How do you get your family to try out new foods?

On the way to the table tonight:


Split pea soup
Mock Garlic Mashed Potatoes (let's see if I can get the kids to eat the cauliflower!)
Polenta topped with roasted veggies and black beans (and some cheese for picky eaters)
Lettuce, Purple Cabbage, Honey Cinnamon'd Oranges, Cucumber, and Avocado Salad

Some notes:
Mock Garlic Mashed Potatoes - I'll puree cooked cauliflower with roasted garlic and other seasonings as the mood hits me, and serve it like mashed potatoes. Rumor has it it's pretty good like this. We'll see how it goes...

Polenta is pretty easy to make. I make it kind of runny so I can pour it into a well greased quiche pan. Then, I top it with all sorts of things - right now I have lots of tomatoes and red peppers, so that will be most of the topping, along with black beans. Then bake it for about 20 - 25 minutes... I have a feeling I may have to melt some cheese on top for my picky eaters!

Once again, I'm serving the salad "salad bar-style". Everybody wins!