Welp. Time got away from me again. Sorry for the long breaks between posts. Life has been busy! Some good and some not so good.
A very close family member was diagnosed with breast cancer recently. Her prognosis is really good, and we are all so thankful for that. She had surgery last week. So far, they are thinking just radiation, not chemo. They caught it early, Thank GOD!
Ladies, go get your mammograms. Seriously.
My sister had suggested we make some meals for her; to help during radiation. I was totally onboard with that. I mean, that is kinda my thing, right? My sister has the freezer meals taken care of, so I thought I would do some canning. Again, that’s kinda my thing. I am so happy to be able to share it with family. I didn’t have to do much; I already have shit ton. Actually, I feel slightly bad about that. I really just had to shop in my pantry.
I wanted to focus on “easy to heat” and “easy to eat”. When my mother-in-law was going through chemo, eating became a chore. With that in mind, I focused on soups. I had a hambone in our freezer calling my name, so that is what I went with. Once done, I loaded a box with other soups I had, along with pasta sauce, shredded chicken, noodles and some delicious cantaloup jam for toast.
Even though this green soup goodness is a classic, I make it different every time. This time I changed up my process and added…SOY SAUCE. Yes, you read that correctly. And, like usual, I didn’t really measure. I taste as I go instead of measuring.
I used 2 bags of split peas to make a double batch. I soaked them overnight in my big stock pot. I started boiling them in the morning right away. While those were boiling, I also tossed the ham bone in another pot. While those were cooking along, I peeled and cut potatoes. I don’t peel carrots. The peelings are full of nutrients and flavor. Instead, I used my Norwex fruit and veggie scrub. I put the carrots and taters on a sheet pan, drizzled with olive oil and roasted them in the oven for like 20 minutes or so. That was the big change up in my process. Roasting the veggies. Anytime I can add another layer of flavor, I do.
When the peas were boiled to softness, I took out about 2/3 of them and emulsified to a liquid and added back into the peas. Then it gets fun. Adding the ingredients until you have a masterpiece. Into the stockpot went the stock, chopped ham, chopped onions, roasted potatoes and carrots. I did pour additional water to thin it out. It was a bit on the thick side. For seasoning I added a couple bay leaves (remember, double batch), soy sauce, celery salt, and Natures Season.
If I haven’t mentioned Nature’s Season before, I need to now. If you don’t pay attention to much, pay attention to this. It is the best! It’s your core seasonings, used in just about everything, all rolled into one. Onion, garlic salt and pepper. I use it for everything. Even eggs. Why grab 4 containers when you can just use this?
Back to the soup. Let it simmer for a bit. Taste and adjust seasonings and thickness. Add water or seasoning to suit your own preference.
While soup was underway, I boiled my canning jars, rings and lids to sanitize. Once the water reaches boiling, I set the timer for 10 minutes. Once ready I filled, sealed, loaded into pressure canner and processed for 90 minutes at 10lbs (use your pressure canner guide for instructions on when to start your timing).
We had soup for dinner that night. It was delicious! I had enough for 5 quarts canned, plus a couple of freezer bags full. I am out of quart jars. I didn’t check on that before I started, so it didn’t all get canned. Oops. Time to buy more jars. And clean. Whew—eee! I made a big mess. Big.
Enjoy. And hug your loved ones.
