Tasty Split Pea And Ham Soup

 

Tasty Split Pea And Ham Soup

Yesterday I cooked a ham with the bone in it so thought with out cold, icy, rainy day that some homemade soup would be nice. Especially since my husband said he thought it could possibly cause a power failure. I moved into cooking mode and voila a hearty soup for cold weather.

In a very large soup pot I added all the ingredients except the extra ham.

Ingredients

Ham bone with some meat on it
2 or 3 cups of split peas
1 litre of chicken broth, organic if possible
3 bay leaves, 3cloves fresh garlic put through garlic press, a little black pepper
Small bag of organic carrots as well as some regular ones (use whatever you have on hand)
3 onions chopped finely in my Cuisinart food processor

5 celery stocks chopped as above, small
3 large potatoes chopped in processor, small
Added water to cover the soup bone and put a lid on it for a good part of cooking time
A little olive oil

I wanted the soup to stay chunky and not mushed and it worked out well this way
Added some diced ham slices from yesterdays ham and let it cook maybe ten minutes longer

All in all it cooked for about two hours but I kept a close eye on the temp and when it
got bubbling turned it down and stirred it a few times too.

A hearty soup for a cold snowy Canadian day. Enjoy!

Homemade Applesauce

Being Canadian we do love our Mac Apples

This morning I decided to make some applesauce.

In years past I would of peeled the apples, especially when our children were small.

Now however I made it with the skin on.  It is less work plus adds extra fibre.

So here is the recipe

Use whatever apples you have on hand

I used a whole bag of smaller mac apples and cut them in pieces,

then added a little water maybe a cup or cup and a half

along with some brown sugar, taste test to make sure its not too sweet!

I let it cook till the apples were soft,

then added a blob of margarine (non hydrogenated) (used to use butter)

also added a half to one tsp. of pure vanilla

and a wee dash of cinnamon

Let cool, refrigerate and you have a tasty Mac Snack

 

The Joy Of Eating A Mango

Last evenings snack was a juicy mango washed well with soap and water.  They are

a sweet tasting fruit and if you have never eaten one you are missing something. So next 
time you go shopping pick up a few and try them.  Most of all it has not been genetically modified as it tastes soooooooooo good. 

Chick Pea With Tomatoes, Yummy

Ingredients

2 large onions, chopped small
2 cans chick peas, drained
10 or so plum tomatoes
1/2 cup rice, white or brown
yellow peppers, 3 and add an orange one too if you like
dehydrated chicken soup base, no msg is better
water to desired amount, I cover it so it will be like a thick soup when done
crushed garlic, to taste, I used the kind in a jar
pepper, a little and salt if you need it
Add a little of McCormicks fine herbs too!

boneless chicken if desired

How To:

I add all this to a large soup pot.  Lately I have made it without the chicken but
if you are adding  the chicken breasts, make sure they are cooked but not overdone
then remove them and chop them in cubes and put them back in when its finished
cooking.

After putting all of this in the pot I add the water to cover nicely maybe halfway.
I cook it for about fortyfive minutes without the chicken breasts but if add them
would check them at that point and make sure they are done or cook them a little longer.
Am one of those cooks that usually puts it all together and goes by the eye to see
when they are done.  So times are approximate. 

Its nice served with some fresh bread

Be creative and try a dash of coriander too in the recipe.  Enjoy!