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. Continue reading →