Split Pea Soup

As I am looking at my post I'm thinking there is just nothing pretty about a picture of split pea soup. It's a good thing it tastes so good.  I thought about my Mom the whole time I was making this soup. She lived with us the last seven years of her life but is gone just as long. She was a lover of most kinds of soup but especially split pea soup. She would love to eat it for breakfast in the winter, strange I know but she loved it.  If that seems strange to you let me tell you she would eat it with an english muffin with parmesan cheese on it. Every time she was done she would get up and take her dish to the sink and say, "boy that was good".  You could bet on it.  I always thought I would never make split pea soup again and here I am making it for my blog.  Life is funny sometimes.

This is not your overly salty kind of split pea soup, hence, the ham being added after you cook the soup and only a small amount at that. Again, you can add as much ham as you like.

Split Pea Soup

1 cup dried split peas
4 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large stalk celery, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
3 or 4 sprigs parsley (minced) or 1 teaspoon dried parsley
2 sprigs thyme
1 small bay leaf

If you choose: diced ham can be added to soup at the end of the cooking time.

Rinse and pick over peas.  In large pot add all ingredients except ham. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, or until peas are cooked and soup is to the desired thickness.  The soup will thicken as the peas cook.  If you need to you can add more water if soup gets thicker than desired.  Don't forget to remove the sprigs of thyme and bay leaf before serving. Makes about four to six servings depending on the size of each serving.