I love winter??

I have a love-hate relationship with winter.  My relationship with winter is more of a hate-hate thing, but I'm really trying here.   

How I feel about winter is nothing like my love-love-love-love relationship with my precious, glorious summer!  Blissfully hot, sunshine, gardening, tank top, good drinks, county fair, short shorts, outdoor activities, bikini (or not now that my belly skin feels like a Great-Grandma's underarm dangly skin and looks like sloughed off snake skin that is flesh colored - I think I just had inspiration for another post!), swimming, friends, tubing, fresh fruit, baseball and softball season....Oh wait, this is supposed to be about winter, not summer. 

Back to business.

In an effort to be positive this first day of February, that is gracing me with a blustery windchill of -19 degrees Farenheit, I am going to make a list of things I enjoy about winter.  We all know that I LOVE lists.

1. Christmas.  Sometimes I think it's the only redeeming thing about winter.
2. Hot chocolate and chai. I make my own!
3. Snow days! Nothing like being forced to stay inside and play games, watch movies and cuddle with the people you love.
4. Snowmobiling.  Even though I don't have a snowmobile, I make sure I get out once and year and tear it up on one of my dad's snowmobiles.
5. Pretty, snow-covered trees.
6. Getting caught up on TV shows and movies.
7. Soup.  I make my own of this, too! ;-)
8. Planning for my spring garden.
9. Target always puts their summer clothes out about right now!
10. Winter means spring is coming?? Can you tell I'm running out of ideas?  At least I made it to ten.

What is your favorite season and why?  Do you have a hard time enjoying your least favorite season?

Split Peasers Soup

I love legumes.  Let me say that again.  I LOVE legumes.  Every single one of them.  They are economical, full of fiber, calcium, iron and protein.  If you haven't delved into the world of legumes because you are intimidated, there are so many recipes for you to try that incorporate just a small amount of legumes. 

The recipe I'm about to share, which is one of our favorite cold weather recipes, is full of legumes of the split pea variety.  Since we are feeling pretty strapped financially, this is a recipe that makes two meals for us, with little spending.

Eh, I might've lost you when I said split pea, if you don't enjoy split pea soup.  But for those of you that are wanting something healthy, filling, warm and cheap, this recipe may work for you!

Basic ingredients...

Can't forget the onions! And the best part is you can kind of 'cube' these up - no dicing!

Add a little extra virgin olive oil and let those things wilt a bit

Add the split peas, sea salt, pepper, a bay leaf, yummy stuff like that ..... and some hot sauce! LOTS of hot sauce!

 

Let it simmer, until it's to the split peas are cooked!

And serve! 

Add a nice salad of mixed greens and some crusty bread, mmmmm!

Hope you enjoy this simple recipe as much as we do!  :-)
 
Split Pea Soup
2 onions, cut into cubes
1-2 TB of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 lb of split peas (I prefer yellow)
2 stalks of celery
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
6 cups chicken broth (or vegetable if you want this recipe to be vegan)
Hot sauce, to taste
1-2 cups water

Cook onions with the olive oil in a large saucepan until they begin to wilt.  Add garlic, split peas, celery and all seasonings.  Then add the broth and hot sauce.  Bring to a boil, then let simmer, covered on low heat for about an hour or until the lentils have softened(depends on which kind of lentils you use).  Stir occasionally.  Once ready to serve, I like to add and additional 1-2 cups of water, to make a soupy consistency, as it will thicken as it stands.  I will sometimes run my immersion blender through it, and sometimes will add some chopped carrots to the recipe also.