Chinese and Split Peas

It's October.
*
*
*
It's the end of October.
*
*
*
It is cold. There was frost on the windows this morning, and I could see my breathe as I walked to my car to go to Crossfit.
*
*
*
Ok. That's a lie.
*
*
*
BUT...it's supposed to be cold.

Living here in Southern California, sometimes we have to pretend a bit in order to enjoy the seasons that our friends in other parts of the country take for granted. We pull out our dutch ovens and fill the house with the delectable scent of braising short ribs...and while dinner's bubbling in the oven, we're outside trimming the bougainvillea in our bikinis. We visit Riley's Farm in Oak Glen to go apple picking Saturday...then drive the opposite direction to go spend the day at the beach on Sunday. And we'll start making soup in October...even though it's been in the mid-nineties these last couple days.

So the last recipe posted was that wonderful curried lime shrimp soup. This new soup entry - Nori Shrimp Egg Drop Soup - is 100% paleo and ready in 5 minutes, which makes it totally lunch worthy! Dinner tonight is yet another soup - one that's not-quite-so 100% Paleo. A rib-sticking, been bubbling in the crockpot all day, down home split pea soup. Will the next post be yet another soup recipe? I don't know! Maybe I'll stray into the territory of paleo chowders or a succulent stew. But for me 'soup' equals 'autumn' ...and when you live in Southern California, that sometimes means quite a crapload of soup to try and pretend that the palm trees are finally changing colours!

Nori Shrimp Egg Drop Soup

This made 2 nice bowls. Perfect for lunch with a friend! This isn't the nicest picture in the world, but the soup was very good. The lime juice and extra grated ginger were added in after the first bite and made ALL the difference! If you want to make it vegetarian, use veggie broth and omit the shrimp. They weren't in the original recipe anyway!

2 cups water
2 cups low sodium broth (veggie, chicken, beef...whatever! soup is so forgiving!)
1/2 cup diced red onions
about 1 cup thinly sliced zuchinni
1 cup shrimp
2 sheets Nori, cut into strips, then squares (scissors work best)or organic kelp/sea vegetable flakes
about an 1" square knob of fresh ginger (skin removed), finely grated
pepper to paste
juice of 1 lime

Combine water and broth in a medium pot, throw in the onions and heat to boiling. Once the broth is boiling, add in the zuchinni, shrimp, Nori, grated ginger, and pepper. Turn down heat and cook about 1 or 2 minutes over medium heat, until shrimp are cooked through. In the meantime, whisk the eggs in a separate bowl with a fork. Reduce heat to low and quickly stir the eggs into the hot broth, whisking with a fork as you slowly pour the egg in. Add lime juice, stir, and serve immediately.

and now...just because I love you all, here's a little 2 minute bonus recipe! Takes 10 minutes to prep and dinner is done! Gotta love that!

Split Pea Soup

Dinner tonight at chez clements!

OK...first off, you need to have that ham bone that you bagged and threw in the freezer last time you had a ham. If you don't have a ham bone, well...then you won't have chunks of tasty ham unless you go buy some to throw in. For the simmering part though, you can also throw in a ham hock (you DO have those in the freezer, right?!) or even a chunk of salt pork. Basically, you're looking for salty pork goodness to flavor the peas! If you want ham and are sans bone, you can buy a ham steak and dice it and throw it in. You can also omit the ham altogether and make it vegetarian.

So...haul out the crockpot, plug it in and turn to low. Dice a big yellow onion and throw it in. Follow up with diced celery and a crapload of carrots in nice big chunks. Add pepper and (here's my secret)dried ground mustard. I usually put mustard seeds and pepper corns in my spice mill and grind them fresh, but obviously the pretty yellow tin of dried mustard works fine also. Add a couple cups of dried split peas. Throw your ham bone, or whatever you're using, in on top. Cover with broth or water (broth obviously adding yet another layer of flavor). Cook on low for 6 hours, adding more liquid if needed.

******************About an hour before serving, take the ham bone out of the pot and let cool. Mix the remaining ingredients in the pot. By this point, there should be no mashing of peas required...it should be all melded together into creamy green goodness! Add extra water if it's too thick for you. Personally, I like my split pea soup like my chili...able to stand a spoon up in it! Anyway, pick all the ham off the bone and throw it back into the pot (the meat...not the bone!), and let warm through. Serve and enjoy.

When heating up leftovers, you'll probably need to add some water and stir up before sticking in the microwave.

So try 'em and let me know what you think! Enjoy!