Soupy Sails - The Perfect Split Pea Soup

Magenta Bougainvillea in my front yard

Sunday - Joe Biden is really beginning to piss me off. Fish or cut bait, old man. I think there is something really cheap about his "will he or won't he?" bullshit. But being a power-hungry sociopath like almost every other politician on Planet Earth, he is loving the media attention, he is loving all the begging from his brain-dead supporters, and he is loving poking a stick at Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.  He's what we call a spoiler, and if the Democratic Party has one brain in its collective head, it will tell him to back off.

Yesterday, while I was kvetching about my aches and pains, James and Linda were working to create my dream garden with two tiers, one of them being well-protected against the occasional monsoon.  I am so very pleased with how James is always able to take my ideas and turn them into something really nice.

It's also nice that James has lots of creative ideas of his own, which compliment and enhance whatever hare-brained scheme I happen to be working on at the time.

Believe it or not, that side garden will provide 172 square feet (give or take a few) of planting area.  And this time, the rain is not going to able to wash away all our efforts.

Still kvetching about pain. This is wearing me down and making me a tad grumpy.. But I did manage to finish the split pea soup.

When I took it out of the fridge, the soup was very thick and pretty tasty, but not quite where I wanted  it. First I removed the neckbone, stripped it of the meat, chopped the meat fine, and added it to the soup. Next I sliced an onion and cooked it in 2 tablespoons of butter. I sliced two Hebrew National knockwurst - all this slicing was on the thin side - and added them to the onions. When everything was nicely browned, I added the onions, knockwurst, and the butter they were cooked in into the soup. 

Three more Knorr cubes, and two cups of boiling water, a little more salt and dried thyme. I placed it back into the cooker unit and set it on high, brought it to a simmer, then reduced it to low and left the house for a few things. And when I got back -

It was perfect. Not too thick, not too thin, not too salty, not too bland. Perfect. And yes, it took two days, but so what? Contrary to those endless game shows and competitions on Food Network, cooking is an art, not a triathlon. There is no need for speed. Cooking for people you love, or at least like, is a very special act of giving. It comes from the heart, and it is meant to be enjoyed by everyone, especially the one doing the cooking.

So slow down and smell the caramelized onions.