Ahh the Joys of Spring

You have to love this time of year. My friend Cindy had it right this morning when she was talking about how Spring lends itself to so much hope and then you look out your door on a day like today and feel absolutely deflated. The flowers are up...but often covered with snow. It looks absolutely beautiful outside.....but is cold as hell and even a bit windy. Winter seems over...and then not (ask the folks in eastern WY and western SD about that this week!)

The best way to be prepared for this tug and pull is to arm yourself with a nice mix of recipes. We grilled steak last Saturday and sat outside sipping hot cocoa after dark, it was so lovely. Tonight I am opting for split pea soup, hopefully it will warm our insides and remind us that winter is not all bad, even if it is long.

Speaking of this split pea soup, it is one of those...hmm...what can I fix for dinner when I really need to go to the store days. I am literally looking at one parsnip, 4 carrots, a few potatoes, and a herd of various onions - Oh and a bag of tomatillas and one pablano pepper. What do you do with all that? Well you decide to make soup and then salsa for baked potatoes for tomorrows lunch. All I have to do now is get to the store later to get some food for the rest of this weekend and next week!

OK -- easy split pea soup......

1 pound slit peas (2 cups)
3 small potatoes diced into bite size
2 carrots, diced fairly small
1/2 of a yellow onion, diced
1 shallot , diced (you could use all yellow - or any onion that you have on hand - even dried!)
6-8 Cups stock/broth/or water broth mixture
Thyme (I used fresh because I had some - dried will also work)

saute onions and carrots. You can do this in a small pan or in the bottom of your stock pot - either one. Combine all ingredients in a stock pot

and simmer until peas are tender. (about 30 minutes, although I just keep on cooking it until the peas start turning to mush- uncovered for the last 20-30 minutes until it gets really thick because Todd likes it that way)

Salt and Pepper to taste.

If you are thinking -- I don't have the stuff to make this, then make it differently. You have scallions - use those. No potatoes, no problem - skip them. Add celery if you have it. Leftover ham? That makes incredible split pea soup. My favorite thing about split peas is that they are not picky - they are happy to simmer in a pot with just about anything. They also cook fast and require no soaking so they can be a really great "fast food" dinner. I love making this ahead in the crockpot - but it really does come together in 45 minutes or less, so it can be a great saving dinner recipe to add to your favorite quick dinners.

Serve this with crusty bread or rolls...yummy. Stay warm this week and remember -- IT'S SPRING!

Teaser

We don't have any complete recipe/photo combo's yet, but we will have several very soon. Todd whipped up an amazing dish tonight (Todd's Antipasti Pasta) for a pot luck and we think we hammered out a "normal" size recipe for it. All we need to do is test it out and photograph it.

I am waiting on a photo of some spoons in order to add Mom's pancakes to the blog...don't ask, it will all become clear when we post.

Todd has at least a dozen articles in the works and I have a ton of pics to download and pair up with recipes.

There is so much almost ready. I wish patience with technology and processes were one of my strong suits! We are excited and can hardly wait to share.

Welcome

This site is dedicated to all the people in our lives that are intrigued by the way we eat. We want to de-mystify gluten free living; share our incredibly easy gluten free meals; and encourage others who are striving to move to a gluten free life. We look forward to hearing your comments!