Two of my kids live thousands of miles away, seven time zones to be precise, in Jerusalem. We talk by phone a lot, and we do our very best to visit whenever we can, pandemic notwithstanding. But it’s far for sure, and one way I keep connected is to allow their cooking to inspire my own. We often touch base on Friday mornings and I love when they tell me what’s on the stove. My daughter-in-law is a fabulous cook, as is my son, and they regularly make magic happen in their kitchen. Last week, with popcorn popping in the background all the way from Jerusalem, I got to hear about the happy reception my son’s very special chocolate-drizzled popcorn had received from friends the previous week. And the split pea soup bubbling on the stove got a quick honorable mention. But that was enough to pique my interest, so I went “shopping” in my own cabinets to see if I had any peas. And I did! I used the crockpot because I love being able to set it and leave, but you can also make this on the stove if you like. It took about 2 minutes to collect all the ingredients and 10 minutes to prep the vegetables, and that’s it. It’s hard to imagine a bigger payoff for such a small investment.

1 lb. dried split peas
2 medium-large potatoes, washed and cubed small
3 large carrots, washed, peeled and sliced thickly (approx. 1 inch)
1 large onion, peeled and diced small
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder

Add all ingredients to a crockpot, and add enough water to cover all the ingredients by approximately one inch. Stir well. Set to HIGH, and cook for 3 hours (or set to LOW, and cook for 5-6 hours).

If you choose to make it in a large soup pot on top of your stove, cover with enough water to approx three inches above the ingredients. Heat on medium-high just to boiling, and immediately reduce heat to medium-low for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Now you can add salt. I use 2 teaspoons for the pot because split peas and potatoes really soak up the salt, but those who like more can add it at the table.

This made two quarts of soup, one of which I gave away, and one of which we ladled out for dinner. The texture thickened a lot by morning, so I added a couple spoonfuls of boiling water to thin it a bit before heating it up. It’s really a perfect winter food. Easy-peasy (see what I did there?).