Split Pea Soup

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INGREDIENTS:

1-2 cups Mirepoix

French cooking term: Mirepoix: a sautéed mixture of diced vegetables (such as carrots, celery, and onions), herbs, and sometimes ham or bacon used especially as a basis for soups, stews, and sauces. Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mirepoix

3-4 cups dried split peas

2 Bay leaves

Leftover Ham bone, preferably the fat and scraps from the roasting pan 

Water

Using whatever you have on hand, dice your mirepoix vegetables and sautée lightly in leftover ham fat, coconut oil or your oil of choice.

Add all the solids to the slow cooker.  Add water to the roasting pan to capture the flavor of the roast in your soup, continuing until slow cooker is full and pan is clear.

Let cook all day or until peas are soft, depending on your device and serve.  Just so you know, this dish is easily adapted for vegetarian cooking by eliminating the ham component. I like to add grated Parmesan as a tasty garnish and serve with grilled cheese sandwiches. 

Homemade soups are time and money savers. 

• One soup a week provides a main weeknight meal and several lunches

• You can even freeze a serving or two to avoid cooking on a future busy day or night. 

Plan to buy a Farm Share!

Beginnings of Spring Valley Treasure

Today, Spring Valley Treasure is literally the back forty, made up of overgrazed, abandoned agricultural land that regenerated into native pastures, market garden, horse training area, and wildlife corridor. Back then our barns were falling apart and our soils were compacted.

Why anyone would see a diamond here was a mystery.

Air may be the most important component for our survival, but water is a close second. Years ago, dairy farmers cooled their milk and watered their cows with spring water. Along Dewey’s Bridge Road, there is a cistern built over the ledge and spring. This farm relic gave us a chance to start our farm. We started out with a couple of heifers, lambs, pigs, chickens and wide open spaces while working full time off farm.

It was five years before we sprung for a drilled well, lifting water out of the cistern with buckets at first to water the heifers.

I can still remember the feeling of kneeling to dip my bucket below the ground’s surface and rising with clear, cold, fresh spring water.

Later on, a sump pump drew gallons of water much easier for daily chores. We were living between the modern world and the early twentieth century trying to connect our children to the land.

The spring water is the source of hope and eternal birth on the farm.