Getting the cooking bug back: ideas to try

Beans and ham hock

Beef winter soup

Red lentil dal (new favorite)

Lentil soup for a small planet

Meyer Lemon risotto

Meyer Lemon pasta

Sardines with potatoes (success!)

Fillet and soba noodles

Minestrone

Wild boar and lentil soup

Braised leeks

Split Pea Soup

Based on this recipe from Chow.com.  The ideal meat is a smoked ham hock, or a 1 pound minimally-processed ham (diced), but I couldn’t find either of those in Seattle, so I used 1/4-lb pancetta (bacon would be better) and 2-oz of leftover hard salami.

Calorie estimate for the batch: 2400 – 3000 (depends on meat)

Ingredients

• 1 lb split peas
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 lb carrots, cut into thin (less than 1/4 inch) rounds
• 1/4 lb celery, cut into rounds, (or 1 green bell pepper, diced)
• diced salted/cured pork, as described above
• 2 T olive oil
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1 T black pepper
• 1 t red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Dice onion and mince garlic.  In heavy-bottom soup pan, warm olive oil over medium heat.  Cook onion and garlic for 5-7 minutes until softened.
2. Add everything else.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  If using a ham hock, toward the end of cooking, pull it out and take the meat off the bone.  Put the meat back in.
3. When it’s finished, see if it needs salt (probably not) and more pepper.  It’ll taste better then next day.