Hi there. Have some soup

 It's been a while, huh. Since last I posted I've moved to Minnesota, remarried, bought a house, acquired a dog, and more. And, oh year, there's a pandemic still going on. How are you?

Part of living in Minnesota means dealing with a long, dark, cold winter. Soup has always been a good friend, and now it's even more vital. When it's 20 below zero without windchill, you need something warm and filling, and you need it now. Enter the big pot of soup.

I make lots of different soups, most recently one of my favorites, Split Pea. I know, it's not pretty and it's hard to avoid that scene from The Exorcist, but if you can get past that, it's worth every minute and every single thick, delicious sip.

As always, this recipe is flexible. Substitutions and tweaks are noted.

You will need:

• A big pot
• A bag/about two cups/about a pound of green split peas. I suppose you could make it with yellow split peas, though I never have
• Olive oil or bacon fat
• Onion
• Garlic
• Water
• Spices
• A ham bone/some bacon/some ham/sausage/etc.

And here's what to do:

1. Chop at least one onion into smallish soup sized pieces. For me this means about the size of a nickel or quarter. Mince at least three cloves of garlic.
2. If you're using bacon or sausage, chop it into small pieces and sauté it until it releases its oil. Remove the meat but leave the oil. If you're making vegan soup, skip this step, of course. 
3. If you're not using sausage or bacon, put some oil into your pot and heat it.
4. Regardless of your oil, add the onion and stir until it begins to get translucent, add the garlic and stir until it begins to soften. Smell the steam and sigh with delight.
5. If you're using a ham bone, add it to the pot. If you don't have a ham bone but want that hammy taste, add some chopped ham, preferable from a ham steak. Use about half of what you have.
6. Cover the ham bone with oil or add 8-10 cups of water to the pot. You can also use stock if you want, but be mindful of salt if using ham or bacon.
7. Add the split peas.
8. You may want to add a bay leaf or two. You may want to add some thyme, maybe 1/2 a teaspoon.
9. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, and let it bubble away for about 45 minutes, stirring regularly. 
10. You may despair that the peas will never disintegrate. See your chin up and keep checking.
11. When the peas begin to soften, add the meat back in, if you're using meat. This could be the bacon/sausage/or some chopped ham.
12. Keep it simmering, and taste. Adjust for salt, pepper, thyme, etc.
13. Cook until the peas are fully disintegrated and it looks like split pea soup. 
14. If you used a ham bone, pull it out, let it cool a little, then scrape off any meat and add it back to the pot.
15. Eat. I usually have crusty bread with it.
16. It will thicken as it cools. I've been known to stand the ladle up in the leftovers, declaring "Whosoever shall pull this ladle from the soup will be declared King of the Dishes!"

I hope you enjoy it. If you have your own recipe, what are your variations?