Pea Happy

I made the world's best split pea soup this week.

Seriously - the world's best. And I know there's a lot of good pea soup out there. But this? This is the best.

Now the reason I'm making split pea soup is because Texas is still pretending to be a climate that would be produced if England and Antarctica had a baby. A horrid, ugly, wet, grey baby that no one likes.

So I've just given up being a southerner and decided to buy a sweater and make things like pea soup. I might even learn to knit or go digging for clams in the cold, wet earth.

See how dramatic it makes me?

Well I told a bunch of people I'd share my recipe, so here you go. Don't forget to whisper my name when you taste it.

World's Best Split Pea Soup Ever in the WORLD

• 1 pound dried split peas. Soak these overnight. Throw away the nasty pea water a few times and add clean water.
• 1 large sweet yellow onion, lazily chopped into large pieces
• Fresh thyme - about 10 sticks of it, a handful, whatever
• Crushed red pepper flakes - I used a lot - like 1 TBSP - you make up your own mind.
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 Smithfield smoked ham hocks
• 6 C. chicken broth
• 2 tsp. salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/2 C half and half

Throw it all in the crockpot - except the half and half. I stripped the thyme leaves into the crockpot and threw away the stems.  Cook it on low for about 6 hours and then on high for the last two or three hours, depending on your crockpot's personality. At the end, toss the hocks, add the half and half and blend the soup with a stick blender until smooth. Whisper my name. It's even better the next day because it sort of firms up and gets that real split pea texture.

Oh - since everyone keeps asking, this is my crockpot and I love it like I love the sun.

 

It has given me many fabulous meals. 

Now, if the sun would just come back, I'd be totally happy!

I made this card for a Hope You Can Cling To challenge. The hexagons are a Westminster / Sizzix quilting die and the B is from Serif Essentials. The bee is from Nature Walk and the greeting is from my beloved Pursuit of Happiness. I dyed some of our white twine with Summer Sun.

I never get tired of "be happy" cards. :)

And now that you have my recipe, you can PEA happy!

Loveyameanitbye.