foodie friday - split pea soup

I'm trying to get back into cooking again. I thought I would share my success on Fridays and include recipes too. Last weekend I made Split Pea soup at my daughters request after watching a Good Eats episode on the pea. I told her that she LOVED Split Pea soup when she was little. We ate it regularly one winter. So much that I never wanted to see it again. I made it Saturday and it was good. Especially when you get some fresh bread, baked in an wood fired oven, to eat with it.

Here's the recipe

2cups green split peas
3 cups water, 5 cups vegetable stock or so (8cups liquid total)
2 onions chopped
4 carrots chopped
celery tops about a handful, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tablespoons butter
bay leaf

Rinse the peas then add to a large pot with 3 cups water and bring to them to a boil. While the peas are coming to a boil, saute the onions and the carrots together in butter just to soften up the onions a bit and add flavor. Add the onions, carrots, celery tops, bay leaf, the vegetable broth. Bring to a slow boil again. Then simmer until the peas are soft. Don't forget to remove the bay leaf first! Run the soup through a food mill or take a hand blender to puree a bit but not too much. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with some fresh bread.

Enjoy!