Split Pea Soup and Poetry? How? Why? Because, while memorable food inspires compliments, a hated food (in this case, peas) inspires a lengthy poem.
Flickin’ Peas
by Julie Robarts
This is the story of a boy (now a man).
Eating green peas was just not in his plan.
He tried every ploy to keep them from his mouth,
Hiding them east, west, and north, and, yes, south.
But his one favorite spot for flicking them all
Was the decorative planter hung on the wall.
Many years later, a man strong and sure,
His mother decides to update her decor.
The planter is passed to his bonny young bride
Who inspects it to find many peas stuck inside.
“What is this?” she asks with innocent eyes.
He pauses, then laughs and slaps both his thighs.
“That,” he admits, with a grin ear-to-ear,
“was my secret pea pot for many a year!
My secret is out. I’m totally busted!
Mum, how’d you miss them each time that you dusted?”
The moral, to young ones who might be so tempted,
Choose your spot well, where dusting’s exempted.
There you have it, three stanzas on my husband’s deep-rooted dislike for peas, which flows through his DNA like the Amazon through South America. Have you ever seen a person shudder from head to toe as if someone’s walked over his grave? That’s what happens when Mark imagines eating peas.
Are taste buds genetic?
So, why would I even bother to make split pea soup? I guess you could call it a DNA experiment. I’m not sure if taste buds are inherited, but I kind of assumed that, even though the kids actually like peas, they would take one look at this unfamiliar soup and head for the exits.
I have never been so happy to be wrong 🙂
Ingredients for Split Pea Soup with Ham
Pull together this handful of ingredients and a few kitchen staples (butter, salt, and pepper) and you’ll be enjoying the warmth that only a bowl of hearty soup can deliver.
- dried split peas (soaked overnight, then drained and rinsed)
- chicken broth
- celery, carrot, and onion
- diced ham
- bay leaf and thyme
My love of hearty, filling soups is well-documented. Thus, I knew this split pea soup was a Sure Thing for me. Thick, tasty and filling, it is exactly the right soup for mornings that start out a chilly 39 degrees in the dooryard. But, I am simply giddy over the fact that all three kids found it tasty as well. Phew! I won’t have to worry about them flicking these peas in places where dusting is exempted. Which, if you’ve ever been to my house, you’d know is pretty much everywhere!
Make it. Love it. Write a poem about it 🙂
Split Pea Soup with Ham
Rich and hearty split pea soup flavored with salty ham and spices. Perfect with a thick slice of bread.
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried split peas
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 large sweet onion, diced about 3/4 cup
- 2 large stalks celery, diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 1/2 cups chopped ham or smoked shoulder
- 4 cups water
- 4 cups chicken broth reduced sodium
- 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 whole bay leaf
- 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
-
Place the peas in a large pot or bowl, cover with water by 2 inches and soak 8 hours or overnight.
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Once soaking is complete, drain the peas and set aside. In a large pot, heat the butter and oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and cook, stirring, until just soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ham, and cook, stirring, for another 30 seconds.
-
Add the drained peas, water, chicken brother, black pepper, bay leaf, and thyme. Cover and bring just to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. Cook until the peas are tender, about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
-
Remove bay leaf. Taste soup and adjust seasonings or adding salt as necessary. Serve warm with thick bread.
Recipe Notes
I prefer chicken broth for flavor, but vegetable broth would work equally well here.
OK-I have been to the world famous Pea Soup Andersen’s restaurant in Buellton, California. You must make a pilgrimage there. Maybe tie it in with a central coast trip-elephant seals, butterflies, Hearst Castle and Pea Soup Andersen’s. http://www.peasoupandersens.net/ I am with Mark. Can’t touch the stuff, though I’m sure your recipe is tasty. 🙂 LOVE THE POEM!
Thanks for the tip! I am learning that pea soup is like that weird cousin on your mother’s side… though everybody’s too polite to say so, nobody likes him 🙂
Please tell me you have read Martha and George’s “Split Pea Soup”??? George hides his pea soup in his shoe. Martha thinks his likes the soup and keeps making more!
One of my favorite children’s stories growing up – thanks for sharing a great soup!
-Katy W
I think I am familiar with Martha and George, but not this story. Fits right in. If Mark hadn’t had that planter, the shoe rac wasn’t far away 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME ABOUT YOUR BLOG?? Silly girl 🙂
I’m half with Mark on this one. Raw peas = yummy. Cooked peas = not so much. I quickly learned how to just swallow cooked peas without chewing when I was young…..
At least you like the raw ones – can’t even get him to go there, but thanks to you, the 2 of 3 kids love them too 🙂
One of my favorite soups growing up & still. Even though both girls like peas I can’t get them to even try it, it’s definitley not the prettiest soup there is.
Agreed — it’s just not pretty. Have you ever heard anyone ask for a pair of shoes or a dress o a nail polish “in the perfect shade of pea soup?” NEVER.