Split Pea Soup with Tempeh Bacon And Yukon Croutons

When you have a day like mine yesterday, you really need comfort. Comfort food. So I made this amazing split pea soup--after my plumber trauma. First, let me vent. We had to have a plumber come to our house. I really don't like to have people in my home--if a friend is coming over, it is a stress that I can hardly describe (my friends that are invited over already know this and are super kind and super careful with me--I love them for that). I'm sure there is a name for it. But if a stranger is coming over (like cable man or plumber man). . . triple that last statement. With some therapy, I am sure I could solve this problem. That "entertainment, come on over" gene is not in me--my mother was a loner, I sort of am, too--it exhausts me to be around "lots" of people (like I was this weekend). These "social sites" cause me anxiety, too--but this blog is here to help me find my voice and keep my creative soul moving forward--so I peek in every now and then, but for the most part, keep it real simple--and keep "friends" online at arms length or more, away.

Needless to say, I have low tolerance and high stress when it comes to "home repair" issues. I have never lived in a new home, nor will I ever. I believe there are enough homes on this planet to house us all--and our housing crisis, well, that speaks volumes. Thus, our 70-year old home. Now, I fell in love with this house because of its charm and its "updates"--it is small and just right. Charm translates into: "It has had some work". I wanted what the real estate agent called, turn-key-ready (good luck finding one of those!)--another low tolerance I have is for real estate agents, okay and bankers, well, let me stop there. So, with an old house--whose previous owner was in "contracting"--again, another of those professions . . . let me keep to the story. Suffice to say, we have had issues with our adorable little home on the range. The number of "short-cuts" we discovered that were taken to get-the-job-done has boggled our minds--and when we stumble across these--when we need something repaired--the repair itself may be minor, only to find a snowball effect taking place--like peeling the layers of an onion--you know what I'm talking about. "Well, I can fix this for you, but first, here's what really needs to be done. . . blah, blah, blah". It can leave you flummoxed. So it was yesterday. My plumbing job was straight forward. No biggie. The pump thingy was not stopping and water kept running to fill the tank. After a ridiculous sum was paid--it is still not fixed this morning. This after two visits yesterday. An email was sent at six this morning. I hope to hear from them soon. Meanwhile. I cooked.

If I become sort of "sad" sounding in the coming months, it is probably due to the rainy and cloudy days we seem to get hit with in the Midwest. I am not complaining about temperatures, I am talking about the lack of sunshine. After all, Missouri is the Show-Me state, not the Sunshine state. Yesterday was one of those dreary days. (A woman teaching a gardening class once said that our winters are worse than those in the Mid-Atlantic region because we have fewer days of sunshine, even though they seem to get more snow. It makes sense to me--snow makes me happy.) I find my creative bend is not in its usual form on dark, dreary days. You'd think I'd take great solace and comfort in being in the kitchen, but no. I take no solace in it at all. I take solace in my bed. But, as I sat reading through my cookbooks, trying to find a kernel of inspiration, I came across a soup recipe for split pea soup. Now, split pea soup is not rocket science. But there are subtle things you can do to make a split pea soup pop. Like ham bones my mother would throw in. Ick. I just so happened to have some Tempeh Bacon on hand. This substituted like a charm in my soup--giving it that wonderful, smoky essence with the added plus of additional texture. Topping my soup off I thought I needed some croutons--I was out of bread, and had no desire to make any. But I did have some yukon golds on hand. I chopped them up and sauteed them in olive oil with a sprinkle of chili pepper and they worked amazingly well--just like a crouton only better because they were taters! Seriously, this soup was delicious!

Split Pea Soup with Tempeh Bacon and Yukon Croutons

3 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion chopped

2 sticks of celery sliced

5 carrots chopped

4 garlic cloves minced

1 lb. split green peas

1 and 1/2 container of veggie stock (like maybe 6 cups)

2 tablespoons sherry cooking wine

2 tablespoons Louisianna hot sauce

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried marjoram

S & P to taste

fresh ground pepper

1 package tempeh bacon, cooked per package directions

In a medium soup pot, add chopped veggies to warm oil. Saute for about ten minutes. Then add split peas and veggie stock. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer and let cook for about an hour. Remove from heat. Use a hand blender on it--to your own desired consistency. My soup was thick. Add seasonings, sherry and hot sauce. Serve topped with cooked tempeh bacon and cooked potato croutons.