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If you will recall my post a few weeks back about how I am turning orange, it is true, I may have exaggerated the picture. But the truth of the matter is that I am indeed turning orange. My hair used to be blonde. Now, thanks to our rusty water, it is orange. You can’t get a full comprehension from this picture of exactly how orange my hair is, but believe me, it’s orange.


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When colder weather hits I get cooking urges. There is nothing like the smell of food simmering away on the stovetop or baking in the oven on a chilly fall day. Am I right? Come on, you know I am. It makes you feel all homey and comforted inside your soul doesn’t it? Well it does to me at least. Today’s luncheon repast was split pea soup. Ever since I saw the segment on the Food Paradise show (on the Travel channel) about Anderson’s Spilt Pea soup, I had to have it. I’m not in the position to hop on my Lear Jet right now to fly out to Calif to have a bowl so I did the next best thing, I made it in my own little kitchen with my own little hands. Sorry Andersons, even though I have never tasted your soup I think I’ve improved upon it. I found their recipe online and added a ham hock (theirs was vegetarian) and some minced garlic. I also substituted half of the water for chicken stock. At first I was afraid the soup was going to turn out orange, because I grated the carrots instead of chopping them. Seriously, I had orange stock. It kinda matched my orange hair. Does orange hair mean you will have orange soup? Is thta how that works? It turned out all right in the end though and was green. How did it taste though? All I can say is YUMMY! This soup is yummy for your tummy. Good to the last drop! It warms you up from the inside out. I’ll put the recipe below for those of you that would like to try this delicious, good for your soul, soup. Try it folks, it’s a winner for sure.


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Anderson's Split Pea Soup Recipe Improved

32 oz container chicken stock
3 cups cups water
1 small ham hock
1 ½ cups dried green split peas (do not soak)
1 stalk celery, finely minced
1 large carrot, shredded
1/2 cup onion, finely minced
1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
1 dash cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Combine chicken stock, water and ham hock in a soup pot. Bring to boil. Add peas, celery, carrots, onions and seasonings. Boil at a low boil for 20 minutes, uncovered. Reduce heat and simmer until split peas are tender (approximately 45 minutes to an hour). Puree soup in a blender, 1 or 2 cups at a time. Return to soup pot and heat until warm throughout. Serve.

Note: Andersons does not use a ham hock. Their’s is totally vegetarian. Feel free to make this without a ham hock if you like.

At Andersons resturaunt they serve this soup with an array of toppings for the consumer to place on top of their soup such as minced ham pieces, bacon bits, cheese, croutons, green onions, etc. It’s great served plain too. Enjoy!