My Favorite Soup

It is the weather for soups for those of us above the equator, especially for those of you in the northern states experiencing the bitterest of temperatures. It's been cold here in Charlotte, but nothing in comparison! I feel it especially because of my twice a day bike ride to work and back, and yes, it's been cold in the afternoon as well as morning, but mainly due to the breeze.

The best thing to warm the joints and bones is split pea soup. It's so easy to make in the Crock Pot if you have one, and I prefer to get it all prepared the night before, stick the pot in the fridge (I have a crock pot that has a removable pot that fits inside the metal cooker part), and then just set it in the cooker in the morning and plug 'er in. Who has time to cook after work when there's lots of spinning and knitting to do?

Here is my favorite, classic recipe for split pea soup:

1 lb. bag of dried, split peas
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 stalks of celery, chopped (add the leaves whole on top to add to flavor, and remove after cooking)
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 ham hock
~1/2 tsp. ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste (the ham hock is quite salty so make sure you don't add to much)
1 Herbox vegetable bouillon (does not contain MSG)
~6 cups of water

Add everything to the crock pot, no need to dissolve bouillon, and cook on low heat. I leave mine in for the whole 8-9 hours I'm gone to work and it turns out great. Remove celery leaves and serve.