Split Pea Soup

Lest people think I only bake around here, this post is about split pea soup and other ramblings.

Many childhood memories for me revolve around food. We had (have) a large family, plus we always seemed to have extra guests around the dinner table -- exchange students, our grandma, parish priests, or assorted other visitors. My mom did a good (great!) job of stretching the food budget and feeding a crowd. That era was all about casseroles and soups, and even though they are kind of passé now, I still enjoy making those old recipes.

In 1996, our mom compiled all her favorite recipes into a big binder -- 453 pages worth. I'm not sure who all got a copy -- but I did! :-)

My mom canned all kinds of fruits, vegetables, jams and jellies. We had a big freezer, so if she made a casserole or soup, we had one for dinner that night, and the rest went into the freezer for "next time." She would make up batches of cookie dough, bake a tray or two, then freeze the rest. I never understood how she didn't know we were slowly snitching the raw cookie dough from the containers in the freezer. Couldn't she see the fork tine marks across the top of the raw block of dough?! LOL

It seems like these days, not many people cook from scratch anymore. My sister had a visitor recently. She cooked (what sounded like) a fabulous meal... fresh fresh fresh. The visitor said "I haven't seen this much fresh food in I don't know how long..." One year at my daughter's birthday party, a party guest said "Is this cake from scratch? It tastes funny!" Don't get me wrong -- we don't cook from scratch for breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day, but the majority of our meals are made from the outer edges of the grocery store.

Tonight we are having my mom's split pea soup. Raise a glass to our mom!

Split Pea Soup

2 cups dry split peas
8 cups hot water
1-2 lb. ham hocks
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 handful celery, chopped
3-4 carrots, chopped
1/8 tsp. pepper
1-1/2 tsp. salt

Combine everything in a pot, heat to boiling, reduce heat and simmer 1.25 hours or until peas are soft.

Take out the ham hocks and remove the ham from the bones. Chop up the ham into smallish pieces. Put the rest of the pot ingredients through a strainer or put in a blender really quick. You don't want chunky peas. (Stir in the ham before serving.)

If you aren't having the soup right away, put it in a bowl in the frig. The grease will come to the top. Spoon off the grease and either freeze or re-heat to enjoy.

And to go along with the soup, how about some biscuits?

When I was growing up, frequently it was my job to make the biscuits. My mom usually had Bisquick on hand, but I hated the "drop style" of biscuit. The baked result was sharp and hard. If I had a choice, I would always go for the kind that is rolled out. Nice and fluffy.