What's that? Why yes, this is a NEW FRIGGIN' RECIPE! Thank you for noticing!
And yes, I agree that it's dumb to post a soup recipe in June, even if it is a delicious split pea soup recipe. And I don't know where you're reading this from but here in LA, we're going through a nasty heat wave so soup is way inappropes. But, I made this back in March with the intention of posting it here sooner but, as per usual, life got in the way.
If you're at all interested on what I've been up to since that last personal post, the answer is: A lot. I finished up the show I was on and the day after packing up my office, I had surgery to remove my cancerous thyroid and 20 lymph nodes. Turns out that about half of the lymph nodes were also cancerous so they think that the cancer may've spread a little more than they'd originally thought. No biggie, though. I should just need one treatment of radioactive iodine and if that goes well, I will be cancer-free (see update below!). More about that in a bit. Recovery went well and consisted of me, in my pj's 24/7, in bed, with my pups, napping and reading, for about a week. Sometimes I got out of bed to talk Chris through how to cook something in the kitchen which was both highly entertaining and delicious. We also binge-watched all five seasons of The Wire which had a definite impact on my speech, namely the number of times I say "Yo" per day (it's embarrassing). It was probably one of the happiest weeks of my life and I don't think it had anything to do with the painkillers I was on.
Three weeks later, Chris and I boarded a plane to Chicago and spent a couple days hanging out with our dear friends, Cadry and David, before boarding another plane to Portugal. We spent about 12 days there (vegan travel posts to come!) and then stopped in New York City for a few days before coming home. It was a very fun, very restorative trip and it was just what the doctor ordered for us after the year we've had. We've been trying to ease back in to reality but to be honest, it's been tricky. We're both still in vacation mode, which we're choosing to view as a good thing. We'll hold onto it for as long as we can.
Going forward, I'm working on the final edits for the book, which is looking AMAZING! But My Family Would Never Eat Vegan! (you can pre-order it now! Just saying!) is shaping up to be even better than my first book (in my opinion). It's just so dag-gone beautiful (shout out to my photographer/husband Chris, and all of my lovely hand models!) and the recipes are so, so, so, so good, even if I do say so myself. I can't wait for you all to see it on November 15th!
I'm also getting ready for my radioactive iodine treatment which should be soon. I basically just take a pill but because it's radioactive, I have to be in an isolated room at the hospital for 3 to 4 days or until the radiation wears off. So that should be interesting. UPDATE 6/24/16: According to my most recent tests, I am clear for now and will not be needing the radioactive iodine treatment! I'll have to test again in 3 months, but for now, I'm cancer-free!
I'm also trying to focus on a couple other non-food-related writing projects in addition to getting this blog back on track. If I can keep my shit together, you can look forward to some new recipes and new vegan travel posts coming at you really soon. But for now, let's talk about this yellow split pea soup. First of all, it's crazy delicious. That's why I'm sharing it. But here's the catch: The recipe is kind of "loose," meaning that as you're making it, you may need to add more broth or spices or whatever as you see fit, because this dingbat (I'm pointing my thumbs at myself right now) didn't write down the recipe after she made it. So this is how I think I made the recipe to the best of my "remembering capabilities" (or "memory," as some more gifted writers might say). If you make changes to the recipe, be sure to share in the comments below to help others who may be interested. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups yellow split peas, rinsed and picked through
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups water, plus more as needed to thin out soup
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 bay leaves
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 teaspoons liquid smoke
- salt and pepper to taste
- Zesty Ranch Dressing or other vegan ranch dressing
- Pickled Red Onions
- Micro Greens
- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (or one 15-ounce can, rinsed and drained)
- ¼ cup liquid aminos (use coconut aminos to be soy-free)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is just becoming translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the carrot and celery and cook, stirring occasionally until the carrot it tender.
- Add the split peas, vegetable broth, water, cumin, thyme, parsley, smoked paprika, and bay leaves and stir until combined. Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce to a simmer. Let simmer until the split peas are tender. If too much liquid cooks away before the peas are tender, add a couple cups of water, cover and continue to cook. Repeat as necessary.
- Once the split peas are tender, stir in the lemon juice and liquid smoke and remover from the heat. Use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. If the soup is too thick, add more water to reach your desired consistency. Add salt and pepper. Serve immediately with a swirl of ranch dressing and topped with chickpea bacon, pickled red onions, and micro greens. Leftovers will keep, refrigerated in an airtight container, for 4 to 5 days.
- Heat a large frying pan, preferably cast-iron, over medium heat. Add the chickpeas and the rest of the chickpea bacon ingredients, except for the black pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and add pepper.
Bam! First new recipe in almost a year (*she said as she did the running man*)! Thank you all for sticking around!
Photography by Chris Miller
Nicole
Glad you're back, lady! And I'm also super glad you had an amazing trip and things are looking up. I was following your beauty Instagram posts of Portugal and now I want to go! xo
Michelle Micci
Welcome back... BIG HUGS to you...
Cadry
Aw, seeing you in Chicago was the best!! I feel so lucky that we had those days together. I didn't realize that you'll have to be in an isolated room for 3-4 days until the radiation wears off. I hope you're stockpiling TV shows and movies to watch. This soup looks wonderful. Big hugs to you!
Michele
Glad you are back. Can't wait to try chickpea bacon!
Ema
Glad to hear things are going a little better. It is winter where I live so a soup recipe sounds great to me! 🙂
Christine Day
Looks fantastic! Sending good thoughts for a successful treatment and excellent test results!
Janna
This soup sounds awesome! And glad you are doing better! As a herbalist I would recommend doing a cleanse after your treatment to help the body rebuild the immune system. Raw food and juicing for awhile along with some herbs should put you back to peak condition! Prayers and God bless you!
Siren
I'm so glad to see that you're back. My husband had radioactive iodine treatment when he was a teenager, and he still jokes that he should have superpowers from it. You'll do great.
This soup looks amazing by the way. Even in the summer, I still crave soup.
christine
Glad to have you around again:) I can enjoy soup at any time of year - if it tastes good, I'll eat and enjoy, and I love split peas and chickpeas, so this is a winner:) Good luck with the pill and 4 days of isolation! Take care of yourself
Jill
It's great that you are feeling well and you had a great time in Potugal, but about the soup - it may be warm for you but it's 2 degrees centigrade for us, so it will be the delicious soup for lunch tomorrow (Saturday). Cheers
Jane
You are bang on for our coldest day of the year so far in southern Australia so I'm happy with this recipe! Good luck with your continued recovery 🙂
Stella @ Stellicious Life
Oh my, somehow I missed your last and just read about your fight with cancer. So sorry to hear about your cancerous lymph nodes, courage and fingers crossed that pill will take care of the last bit and you'll be well in no time!
Love the cover of the new cookbook, love the design of your books 🙂
Glad you had some rest and spent some much needed vacation in Portugal, wasn't it lovely? I've been 3 times I think, and loved the place, the people, the food (though it certainly wasn't that healthy as far as I remember it). Take care and get well soon! *hugs*
ps. and these past year I became such a soup addict, that I crave it daily, so your recipe came in just the right time! And btw, I love split pea soup, can't wait to try your version of it!
Jenny
Absolutely thrilled to hear from you! The amount of BS you have had to deal with in the past year has been mind blowing and I am in awe of your ability to persevere with a humorous outlook. Enough with the self deprecating comments on recipe choice, my husband and I keep up a weekly pho routine all summer! You are amazing, thank you for sharing!
AY
Wonderful seeing you guys here in NYC--always a pleasure spending time with you. I hope your isolation time is restful and productive and that recovery goes smoothly. All the best. xo
Sue
Kristy, so nice to have you back! i hope things continue to go well for you 🙂
Elyse Sokoloff
Eh, we've been eating split pea soup almost every week for the last month...every month is soup month as far as we're concerned. I want to give yours a try though; it looks amazing! Glad you don't have to the the iodine and woohoo! for being cancer free!
Erin
My birthday is November 15th so I just pre-ordered as a birthday gift to myself! 🙂 It's great to see a new recipe here - we've missed you and are glad you are back.
janet @ the taste space
Nice to see you back, Kristi. Take all the time you need for yourself and we'll be here when you're ready. Glad to hear you are taking things in stride. Good luck with your recovery.
Annie Abbey
This looks so delicious! I have been really into pickled onions lately so this is right up my alley! So excited to have found a great vegan blog like this!
xx Annie
http://www.somethingswellblog.com/
Proud Vegetarian
I just found this post when i'm in the mood for soup and the fact that it's made using yellow peas makes the recipe look even tastier. I'm glad you shared.
Holly L
Not gonna lie, I pre-ordered the book as soon as Amazon would allow (like January, lol 😂)