nom nom foody.

Leeks are odd vegetables.

The first time I ever saw a leek, I was in a grocery store trying to decide if I wanted broccoli or brussel sprouts for dinner. My first thought was, Is that a mutant green onion or what?

Ben suggested that we bring one home. I threatened to call it Teeny Leeky. He bought it anyway. It sat in our crisper for days, taunting me whenever I opened the fridge. Finally, on the verges of wilting into the vegetable underworld, it shook its various green arms at me and pointed out that today was a good day to cook.

That's how I came up with this recipe - because it was a stormy spring day, and I knew that if I was working at the time, this was what I wanted to come home to. Things happen when you have a rebellious leek in your fridge and a lot of time on your hands.

notes: this is a vegetarian-friendly recipe - that's because I live with two, and us meat-eating heathens like to keep the peace every once in awhile. For those who are inclined, you can add a cup of diced ham or salty pork.

Feel free to pre-soak the split peas about two to four hours beforehand. I can't stress enough that you should rinse the split peas thoroughly in a colander before you cook with them, even if they've been pre-washed. The only time we didn't do this, we were chewing through sand and grit - not fun!

Ingredients:
12-16 ounces of dried split peas
four cloves of garlic, peeled and smushed into pieces
one leek, sliced (about two cups depending on the size)
one stalk of green onion, sliced
four small red potatoes, sliced and diced (about a cup)
two carrots, sliced (about a cup)
1/4 cup red onion
4 cups vegetable broth
4 cups water (filtered, preferably - I'm a snob, I know)
about 4 tablespoons of olive oil
fresh thyme and rosemary
sea salt and pepper (go insane!)


Assembly:

In a decent-sized soup pot, lightly saute the onion and garlic until soft. Add the vegetable broth and split peas, and bring to a boil. Keep it lightly simmering for a half-hour or until your split peas are tender (but not mushy) - if you haven't chopped up the other vegetables at this time, go ahead and do that now. Chop chop!

Add the water, potatoes, carrots, green onion and leek to the soup. De-stalk your rosemary and thyme, and add that to the soup along with the sea salt and pepper. Allow the soup to simmer quietly for another half-hour, or until your split peas are soft. Serve with a cozy blanket and a crust of French bread. Enjoy!