Ahhhh, yes! Good ol' home made split pea soup, One of my all-time favorite 'comfort foods'. I've tried it in restaurants, soup & salad places, etc, But for some reason, It is just never very good. But I do love the home made! My 'recipe' is very simple, kind of like my mother made it. Just the split peas, the ham bone, some onion, a bit of white pepper, (I don't like 'fly-specks' in light colored foods) And a little carrot, grated on the largest grate of my grater, for some color. Oh, and water or chicken broth, of course. We do like it to be sort of thick. So glad you & your family tried it and liked it, Isn't it fun to try new things? And get a positive reaction from the family? Rusty

There's a first step I follow with split peas and dried beans to speed cooking and reduce intestinal flatulence. Put the legumes into a pot of water with at least 3X the volume of water as the volume of dry beans/peas. Bring to boil. Turn off heat, cover, let sit one hour. Pour off water, then use the almost fully cooked legumes to prepare whatever recipe you're making. Soup can be done in as little as one more hour. You can saute onions and other veggies in another pot while the peas sit. Or, take out the peas when done, use the soup pot to saute the veggies, then add back the peas and whatever liquid and other things you use.

Pea soup is one of my favourite soups! It's a common soup to make in Newfoundloand and we probably make ours a bit different than everyone else. For one, we use salt beef which I don't even think is available anywhere else, or if it is you call it something different. You can also use a ham bone and leftover ham but I prefer mine with salt beef. Here's my tried and true recipe: Pea Soup & Doughboys 2 cups salt beef, diced 2 cups yellow split peas 1 cup chopped onion 1 cup diced turnip 1 cup diced carrot ½ cup chopped celery 2 - 3 potatoes, cut in large chunks salt & pepper to taste Doughboys: 1 ½ cups flour 1 tbsp baking powder ½ tsp salt 3/4 cup water or milk (approx) -Soak peas overnight in cold water. -Place meat in large saucepan. Add 8 cups cold water; bring to a boil. Simmer 30 minutes. -Add drained split peas and chopped onion. Simmer gently for about 1 ½ - 2 hours. Add more water if desired. -Add other vegetables and cook until tender (remember to stir often). Doughboys: -Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually stir in enough water or milk to form a soft dough (it will be sticky). -Drop mixture by tablespoons into hot soup; cover tightly and simmer, without removing the cover, for 15 minutes.

Pllog, here is my "lighter" pea soup recipe. I got it from "epicurious.com" but the attribution says "Bon Appetit, Dec. 2006." Split Pea and Green Pea Soup With Fresh Dill 3 TBLSP extra-virgin olive oil 1 large leek, white and pale green parts only, chopped (about 1.5 cups) LR note: I would probably often have to sub other types of onions as I can't usually afford or find leeks. Occasionally they do become available in the market at reasonable prices though. 1 bay leaf 1 cup green split peas, rinsed 5 3/4 cup (5.75 for you decimal folks!) vegetable broth, divided. Could use chicken if you don't have veggie broth I guess. 1 cup frozen peas, thawed 5 TBLSP chopped fresh dill, divided. LR note: I rarely have fresh dill and often have to make do with dried so I would do that to taste, starting with 1 TBLSP. Heat oil in heavy large pot of med. high heat. Add leek and bay leaf. Saute until leek wilts, about 3 min. Add split peas and stir to coat. Add 5.25 (5 1/4 for you fraction folks) cups of broth. Reduce heat to simmer until split peas are just tender, about 35 min. or longer with more water depending on how old the dried peas are . . . (LR's note) Remove from heat and cool somewhat. Transfer 1 cup of soup solids and remaining 1/2 cup of broth to a blender. Add peas and 4 TBLSP of fresh dill. Puree until smooth. Return puree to pot with rest of peas. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and serve sprinkled with remaining fresh dill. LR notes: I would not do that, I would mush up just the frozen peas with a hand blender and then add them and mash the rest a bit with a masher to combine, or else just add the frozen peas to the pot and use the hand blender to blend mostly just the area with the frozen peas. But who am I kidding, I probably would just add the frozen peas and give the whole thing a zip with the hand blender, trying to keep pea soup out of my hair and the stove area . . . This would be great with buttered herb croutons if you are so inclined . . . I've also made it with spinach and chopped pea pods added, and maybe some fines herbes . . .