The Gluten Free Path

Gluten Free Split Pea Soup and Stuffed Mushrooms

     I love soup! Until the last year or so I got all my soup out of a can. Unless my mom made it. My mother is a brilliant cook and always makes a several pots of soup throughout the winter, and even into the early summer. I decided in ’08 I had to learn how to make good soup.
A year and a half after my experiments I’m getting quite a bit better. I’ve got an idea as to what flavors go with what spices. I have even figured out how to get around food “road blocks”, like gluten. But it isn’t just gluten, it’s artificial things, like preservatives, flavors. Even “natural” things like natural almond flavor, I avoid. Things like that usually bother Rick or me.
     When it came to making split pea soup, which I love, I held off due to what I know they put in ham, which is usually used to flavor the soup. On top of that, pigs are among the most poorly treated of massively produced food animals. But that is a post for my other blog, the modern hippy I’ll be making in the near future.
     Our co-op, which I adore, carries uncured, happy pork. However, I don’t need the amount they carry and it is a little expensive. So I opted for turkey bacon raised ethically. It has the same flavor as bacon, without all the unhealthy pig fat. I have found that bacon is a good substitute for ham when needed.

What you will need:
2-3 cups dried split peas
1 cup dried black eyed peas(optional)
6-8 cups chicken broth (I make my own and freeze it)
1/2 finely chopped yellow onion
1-2 med/large carrots
Himalayan salt – to taste(or sea salt, but that will change the flavor a little)
Pepper – to taste
Sage – to taste
Cumin or Cardamom – to taste
3-6 slices of turkey bacon, torn up
( I firmly believe you should add whatever spices you like, but these will give you the split pea soup taste without changing it too much.)

     If you are using the black eye peas, soak over night or be prepared to cook them before anything else for at least an hour, maybe more. Simmer them in chicken broth, might as well start the flavor mixing at the beginning. Though remember the longer soup is cooked, the more steam be let off and the liquid may need to be replenished. This is partly why I start with so many cups of chicken broth.
     Once the black eyed peas are tender add the split peas and onions, about 30-45 minutes. If the peas still seem rock hard cook them longer. Add spices and carrots, simmer for 15 minutes until the carrots are softening but not too soft that they will over cook in just a few minutes. Lastly, add the turkey bacon. Simmer about 5-10 minutes to allow the flavor to be absorbed by the soup.
Serve with something tasty and enjoy!
      For the dinner photographed above, I also made stuffed shittake mushrooms and crisped up the extra bacon. Very tasty, though I’m not convinced that the recipe is final, so when it’s done I’ll put it up!