Maggie, just want to let you know that yesterday I made my regular pea soup, the one posted above. I made it without the ham broth, just with the plain chicken broth and when I pureed it I added 1/2 cup torn, fresh mint leaves. OMG! It is awesome! As I mentioned I like the mint in asparagus soup but I love it in the pea soup. It's such a beautiful green anyway but then with the fresh mint it has these tiny specks of darker green making it just beautiful...I love green! I would take another picture but I don't think I can top the picture above:) Marilyn

Thank you Tina. I've been searching and kept thinking I was nuts because the OG (closest to me - which is 120 miles away, grrr) did not have those ingredients either. As it is probably produced in huge quantities at the restaurant, I know I don't have the right amounts, but after searching, angel, I think I found one that is as close as I'm ever going to get. Not sure if this will help or not but here is the one that is closest to what I get at the OG nearest me: 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup minced white onions (about 1 small onion) 1/2 cup chopped zucchini 1/2 cup frozen cut italian green beans 1/4 cup minced celery (about 1/2 stalk) 4 teaspoons minced garlic (about 4 cloves) 4 cups vegetable broth (Swanson is good *note: Do not use chicken broth!*) 2 (15 ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained 2 (15 ounce) cans small white beans or great northern beans, drained 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes 1/2 cup carrots, julienned or shredded 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon dried basil 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme 3 cups hot water 4 cups fresh baby spinach 1/2 cup small shell pasta add a little red wine to the stock Heat three tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot. Saute onion, celery, garlic, green beans, and zucchini in the oil for 5 minutes or until onions begin to turn translucent. Add vegetable broth (and wine?) to pot, plus drained tomatoes, beans, carrot, hot water, and spices. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Add spinach leaves and pasta and cook for an additional 20 minutes or until desired consistency. Makes about eight 1 1/2 cup servings. I am not sure about the wine, but if it IS in there, it would explain my later trips to the ladies room. I've also seen some that call for tomato paste and tomato sauce and saw mushrooms mentioned once in building the tomato base but I know I've not seen any mushrooms in any soup I've been served. I'll try to find the site again to give proper credit where it is due and post it here for you. Angel, if you have found THE recipe, would you consider forwarding it to me?? vigray@email.com

Your soup night sounds fab! We did a nod to it being Christmas Eve with a beaded tree for a centerpiece. Ann T., avoid your eyes, and skip the rest. :) Soup was minestrone flavored stone soup. I think the caterer left as much food as was served at our big party, so there were a lot of celery and carrots, grape tomatoes, cauliflower and broccoli left. Those were all diced for the soup, plus a couple of onions, half a head of garlic, some yellow vine tomatoes, a bag of baby kale and a white cabbage. So I didn't have to go down to the garage, the base was what I had in the kitchen freezer. That's three cups of low FODMAP chicken stock and three cups of beefy cabbage soup. I added a can of crushed tomatoes, a small can of fire roasted, and a smaller can of tomato sauce, plus vegetarian no-MSG bouillion and a little jarred soup base, for the salt. :) Some pepper, Tabasco (because I was too tired to clean serrano peppers from the garden) and mostly red wine. The starter was salmon salad made from the cranberry mustard salmon skewers leftover, broken up and dressed with what I think was the remoulade from the fried chicken drummettes. It had separated, and was a thick mayonnaise consistency and very herby, with a good acid sharpness that went well with the fish (which hadn't gone fishy). That was served with the leftover tortilla chips and relishes: baby corn, spiced baby carrots, pickle chips, raddishes and mixed olives. I also made some kale chips for something light. :) The soup was served alongside a leftovers casserole: a layer of latkes on the bottom (I thought they'd make it easier to serve but they fell apart), then layers of jewel rice, butternut curry, chopped broccoli, then filled with a bread pudding made from dry, bready donut holes, a (new) pretzel baguette, the chicken from the drummettes, the Moroccan beef cubes from another skewer, a couple of sundried tomato chicken sausages I had in the fridge to add more meat, and a couple of (new) leeks sautéed with a packet of small diced pancetta. There was cinnamon on the donut holes, the flavor of which came up more in the custard than it had on the donuts, but it went well with the garlic pepper I seasoned it with. Dessert was a tarte made from a sheet of frozen puff pastry that needed using. It was brushed with leftover passion fruit sauce, topped with leftover crème anglaise, and leftover fruit. :) There were also everybody's favorite freshly baked Toll House cookies from the Toll House cookie expert and party colored Dutch chocolate half dollars (leftover). The pudding casserole could have been improved upon (custard in the bottom layer under the curry to glue it together--the curry was a rich paste so I thought it would do the job, but it just softened everything--and cut up the donut holes smaller so they'd stick better), but everyone liked it and ate well of it. I heard a few "stuffed"'s. :) My fridges heaved sighs of relief to see so many containers removed! Most of all, we had a delightful evening with loved ones who couldn't be at the big party.

Same here. But I use polypropylene #5 containers. They're the most safe and most washable and reuseable. They degrade a lot less with light and heat. Some deli containers are made of this. Others are meant for one time use. The veg, especially peas, will likely lose their pop, but you didn't list the better not freeze things. Soup is too wet for pasta and fluffy beans like cannelini. They freeze okay separately if well drained and slightly dry. But the peas should be fine, just soft.