Pass the peas, please

My Mom often sends me boxes filled with great organic ingredients from our home town co-op. One of my favorite things to get are big bags of split green peas. Not only are they super tasty, but they're also very nutritious with tons of vegetable protein and fiber. This velvety split pea ginger soup is sure to tingle your taste buds with its layers of flavor. I love making a big batch in the winter and keeping it in the fridge to pull out and reheat for lunch or dinner. It's the perfect cold day soup that's guaranteed to warm your heart.

Split Green Pea Ginger Soup: (vegetarian/vegan)
Ingredients you'll need: split green peas (4 cups), veg stock (10 cups), carrots, celery, onions, fresh ginger, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, cayenne pepper and lemon are optional.

*Note-this is a big recipe, it serves 8-12, which in my mind is the only way to make soup. The more, the merrier!
It's also gluten free and vegan so you can give it to most anyone!

1st- Get yourself a nice large stock pot and put it on the stove but don't add any heat
2nd- Cut up 3 onions, 3 large carrots, and about 1/2 a bunch of celery all into about 1/2 inch dice. Peel and smash 3 cloves of garlic. Peel and slice up about 1/4 cup of fresh ginger (add more or less to your liking-I like a lot).
3rd- Give a "glug glug" of olive oil around the bottom of your pot and add your garlic- turn up the heat gradually to draw the flavors out of the garlic without burning it. Once the heats up some, add the ginger and saute for a few minutes more.
4th-Add the carrots, onion and celery (this is called mirepoix). Stir, and season with some salt and pepper.
5th-Let the vegetables saute for awhile over mid-high heat. Once they start to soften up, add 4 cups of split peas and toss with the vegetables. Then pour in 10 cups of vegetable stock and bring to a boil.
6th- Once it comes to a boil, turn down the heat to a simmer and add 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes. Let it simmer for about 40-60 minutes or until everything is very soft.
7th- Get yourself another stock pot or big bowl and a blender. Using a ladle, transfer the soup to the blender (about 2-3 cups at a time with enough liquid/peas/veg each time). Put the lid on the blender but leave that little plastic stopper off (it's in the middle of the lid). Put a dishtowel over that hole so some steam can get out but the blender doesn't get too hot. BE CAREFUL- you do NOT want to burn yourself, and this can be a little tricky.
8th- Blend from low to high the soup until it's velvety soft, then transfer to the new, clean pot.
9th- Repeat this until all the soup is blended. Voila! Your soup is done- season with salt and pepper and taste. You can dish it up in bowls and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon if you like. Maybe a LITTLE pinch of cayenne to add to it's richness.
Come and get it!

(Picture is from 101cookbooks.com, recipe is my own)