Soup for a winter day.

Guess what We did today.  We took down the Christmas tree and other decorations.  Thankfully, I had a lot of help.  My husband and my daughters worked right along side me until all was stored in the basement closet for another year.

The house always looks a bit bare after the holidays but this year it looked down-right empty.  The tree usually sits behind the leather chair in the corner.  Well....Oops!  I forgot to get the accessories out of the cupboards and back on the mantles and tabletops.    Got to do that.  It is a joy to have willing workers and the fast clean-up left me time to clean out the refrigerator, go grocery shopping, fold the laundry for the girls to take to London and back to University, and now soup is simmering on the stove. 

After the holiday treats that left our kitchen this year, savory food is very appealing.

Split Pea Soup (a favorite at our house) is a great way to use up the leftover Christmas ham shank and there will be plenty to send back to school for busy weeknight suppers.  Now I'm off to get the bread dough made.

If you think you don't like Split Pea Soup, try this recipe.  You won't be sorry.  It's delicious.

Ham and Split Pea Soup

2 cups of chopped yellow onions (about 2 onions)

1 Tablespoon of minced garlic (4 cloves)

¼ cup of good olive oil

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

1 Tablespoon of kosher salt
2 teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper

2 cups of red boiling potatoes (6 small), unpeeled and diced

2 lbs. dried split green peas (picked for stones and washed)

¼ lb. smoked ham, diced (or use bacon or kielbasa)

1 leftover ham bone
1 cup of celery, diced

4 cups of carrots (6 to 8 carrots), diced

16 cups of water

In an 8-quart stockpot over medium heat, sauté the onions and garlic with the olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper until the onions are translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the ham, carrots, potatoes, the leftover ham bone, 1 ½ pounds of split peas, and the water. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Skim off the foam while cooking. Add the remaining split peas and continue to simmer for another 40 minutes, or until all the peas are soft. Stir frequently to keep the solids from burning on the bottom. Remove the ham bone. Pick off any remaining meat and return it to the pot. Discard the bone.
Taste for salt and pepper and adjust if necessary.
Serve hot.

Serves 10 to 12 and may be frozen.