3.28.2012

Pots to Pea In

Whilst sometimes it might feel like we don't have a pot to piss in....we DO have pots for peas....and other assorted beans. I may, however, be absolutely lacking in lids. 


So, yesterday, I set forth to make up a metric fuque-ton of soups for lunch. Beans and split peas abounded all over the place. One recipe amended from a recipe given by Susan Powter, a recipe which I cannot find for the life of me...the other a concoction of my own creative thinking. 

Let us keep the peas, shall we?  

Split Pea Soup-The All-Vegan Variety

What You Need:

1 C. Split peas, dried
3-4 strips of soy bacon, torn or chopped
2 small onions or one large (I use yellow), peeled and roughly chopped
1 or 2 large cloves of garlic, peeled, whole
Kosher or Sea salt
Coarse ground black pepper
Olive oil, 1-2 tsp
1 C. Vegetable stock
4-6 C. Water
Large pot/Dutch oven thingy
Stand blender or a blender/wand/handheld thingy-rather, and IMMERSION blender....

What You Do: 

 1. Prep your veggebles and soy bacon. No need for fancy cutting or garlic pressing, because by the end, everything will either be melted down or blended to a perfectly split-pea-soupy consistency. 

2. Heat olive oil to medium in pot, then add onions, garlic and soy bacon. Saute for several minutes until onions begin to carmelize. 

3.  Add salt and pepper (I used about 1 tbs each.), split peas, vegetable stock and water. Stir to mix it all up. 

4. Raise heat and bring soup to a rolling boil for at least 5 minutes. Stir. 

5. Lower heat to medium-low...(that's about a "4" on my stove) and cover, leaving a little space for ventilation. 

6. Depending on what consistency of soupiness you prefer, you might wish to add another cup of very hot water during the simmering process. I like mine to be almost stew-like, so I added about 1/2 a cup. You could also go for a very thin, split-pea BROTH if you wanted too and add a TON more water. All up to you!  

7. Simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  

8. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 15-30 minutes. 

9. Place soup in blender or use immersion blender to completely break down all left over split-pea bits and create a smooth, lovely soup.  

This is sort of what it looks like right after adding all the liquidy stuff.
 Click on it to get the riveting visual of floating split peas!  


This one freezes well. Just allow it to cool completely, then add to freezer-safe containers with air tight lids and freeze. And, as gross as it might sound, this is not bad as a cold soup, or a room-temperature soup. Seriously!  


Now that THAT is out of the way, I am currently experimenting with cornbread...because how can you have split-pea or bean soup of any kind and NOT have cornbread???  I used ground flax seed, via Care2.com's advice, and almond milk in place of the dairy varietal. It sort of LOOKS the same, but only lunch and tastebuds will tell. I WILL report back. And yeah, I'm lazy and used the Jiffy boxed variety cornbread mix. Sue me! :D  

So, tomorrow, I'll endeavor to repeat the recipe for the 15-Bean Soup that I concocted. It should be exciting! I hope you'll return.  You can also sign up for email notifications or follow me on Blogger, if you so desire. Good fun, eh?  

No comments:

Post a Comment

Preheat My Oven....