split pea soup

split pea soup

Published: Thu, 01/11/24

** moon * grammy * traditional spill * needs more salt **

This is good. SPLIT PEA SOUP (split peas, resembling the "triple goddess" moon symbol)

This one is straight from that brown Moosewood cookbook. (No more Moosewood after this, I promise.)

(Carolyn, wearing some kind of head covering, holding a split pea up to her eye, saying "So cute!"; colander full of split peas) Rinse the split peas first (3 cups). Enjoy the color.

Split peas are fun because you can get up close & personal with the real shape of the pea. 2 little halves.

(Split peas, water, and bay leaves pouring into a pot) 3 cups split peas, 7 cups water, 1 bay leaf, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp dry mustard

I think this soup was the last thing I cooked with my Grammy. I'd made it once when she visited, and she loved it. Then, that last summer she lived on her own, she bought all the ingredients and asked me to make it. It was like 9am or 3pm — not a soup time — but she was not up for discussing it. Obviously I made the soup.

(Carolyn in her 20s, skinny and with round glasses and skaterboy haircut, talking with Grammy — tall and skinny, seen from the back) in the kitchen. G - I got everything. C - But ... G - Just make it. C - But ... G - We'll put it in the freezer. C - ...ok.

(Covered pot on burner.) Bring it to a boil & simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

It notoriously takes ages to heat up and then boils over all at once, causing a huge mess. Tradition!

In the meantime, cut up the veggies. 2 c minced onion. 5 garlic cloves. 3 stalks celery, minced. (drawings of ingredients)

This past fall I copy edited a book about the moon, with magick spells to harness its power. It sounds woo-woo, but I was kind of compelled by it. Not by the spells, but by all the moon history and metaphor, and the idea of putting intentions into objects. The spells used a lot of bay leaves for luck, and salt for cleansing, and even potatoes.

(Carolyn chopping onions by candlelight. Behind her, steaming pot on stove, half moon partly visible through window.)

While I chopped onions as the broth started to steam in the pot, I lit a candle to keep the onion crying down (try this — it works!) and I started to feel a little witchy — all the herbs and vegetables, the steam and the candle. Plus I'd just washed my hair and was wearing one of those turban towels, which gave things a little bit more spiritual air.

(Same drawing as previous, chopping onions by candlelight, but with a slight smile, half moon is fully visible, and everything is blue.)

2 medium carrots, sliced. 1 small potato, sliced. (Drawings of ingredients cut into half moon shapes.).)

Cutting up the carrots I thought about pieces absent from each other — halves separated and then brought back together. Broken / whole. The potato, too — half circles.

(Pot full of green soup seen from above, plus drawings of ingredients.) Put all the veggies in, cover, and simmer another 40 minutes. Then add pepper to taste and 4T red wine vinegar. To serve, drizzle with sesame oil & top with chopped tomatoes.)

I don't observe very many rituals, but this is one: onions, candle, moons, soup, remember my Grammy. Hair towel optional. (Small whole green pea in between paragraphs.) This makes a huge amount of soup. We ate some for dinner and I put the rest in the freezer.)

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