I know you're a little bit scared for these soup pictures, considering the graphical horrors in my last post. But we're gonna make it through this mess together. Cause ya know...that's what friends are for.

...Did I really just say that the purpose of having friends is to survive mediocre split pea soup pictures?

Well dang, my friends deserve gold medals.

But since I'm out of medals, they'll just have to settle for carrots. I wouldn't complain :)

Unfortunately, there's really no way for me to do this soup justice in pictures. Well, hmph. I suppose words will just have to be good enough this time 'round.

This soup is totally, completely, incredibly, amazingly: a) Delicious b) Simple c) Comforting d) Unpretentious e) Soul-soothing

Never mind the fact that it is unattractive. After all, it's not the soup's fault. Blame it on the blogger :)

The Ultimate Kitchen Sink Split Pea Soup

Despite this soup's unassuming (ahem.) looks, it's actually quite lovely in the flavor department! I wanted to stick with traditional split pea soup ingredients and flavors, but feel free to add whatever vegetables or grains you have on hand. When ASOS Mum makes her variation of this soup, she typically uses both ham and chicken broth. Though this version is good in its own right, I wanted to experiment with a vegetarian version that would be on par in both taste and texture. I'm happy to say that said experiment was a success!

Yield: Serves 2 hungry people for dinner or 3 not-deathly-famished people for lunch

Ingredients:

- 1 onion, diced - 2 cloves of garlic, minced - 2 carrots, diced - 2 small potatoes, diced (I used russet potatoes and left the skin, scrubbing them well rather than peeling. If you'd prefer, peel the potatoes.) - 1 tbsp oil or butter/margarine OR cooking spray - 1/2 cup split peas - 1/2 cup pearled barley - 7-8 cups water - 3 tbsp vegetarian "chicken-flavored" broth mix/bouillon (Use less if your bouillon is strong) - 1/2 tsp dried basil - 1/2 tsp salt - pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Wash, scrub, and prepare the onion, garlic, carrots, and potatoes. Place a medium pot over medium-high heat; add the oil/butter or cooking spray. (Use just enough to grease the pan, so the veggies won't stick.) When the pot is hot, add the vegetables and saute until slightly softened (~3 minutes).

2) Add the split peas, barley, water, broth, dried basil, salt, and pepper to the pot. Keep the heat on medium, waiting for the mixture to come to a boil.

3) Once the soup is boiling, reduce heat to low-medium, making sure that it is still at an active simmer. Simmer for 1+ hour.* Season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

*Add a cup of water as needed, if the liquid level in the soup starts to get too low (at or below the level of the vegetables/split peas). The longer you simmer, the lower the level of liquid. Thus, if you want your split peas really soft and smushy, add more water and cook longer.