Split Pea Soup

I have never tried to make a homemade split pea soup, although my Mom used to make them occasionally, and I loved them. So, given that we are on a serious budget, I figured that a split pea soup would be a great guest in our fridge, as it is both cheap and filling. And it holds up well for several days.

So, i went on a recipe searching quest, and liked this one the best:

http://www.food.com/recipe/vegetarian-split-pea-soup-233926

Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

3 cups dried split peas 

7 cups water (may need more) or 7 cups vegetable stock (may need more) 

1 bay leaf 

2 teaspoons salt 

1 teaspoon dry mustard 

2 cups onions, minced 

4 medium garlic cloves, minced 

3 stalks celery, minced 

2 medium carrots, 

sliced 1 potato, diced 

fresh ground black pepper 

1 -4 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, to taste (or red wine vinegar)

I didn't have the celery, and I decided to skip the vinegar, but otherwise I just sauteed the veggies, added the potatoes and the peas, then water, and boiled for 2 hours. Then I mashed everything with a potato masher, which allowed me to get my favorite consistency: nice and hearty and think, but you can discern all the individual veggies that went into the recipe.

My husband tried it and loved it so far. It has a very mellow, but rich and hearty flavor, with distinct carrot and onion notes in it, but predominately sweet peas of course.