JANUARY 22, 2009 ISSUE
Mountain Living
Celebrate the Indoor Season with Soup and Terrariums
Canning jars make good terrariums. Photo by Amy Cooke
This year the garden is frozen solid, so no outdoor digging is possible, even for those of us who thrive on constant contact with the earth. To feed your growing spirit, look for glass containers that you can recycle into terrariums. You can use old bottles, jars, aquariums or vases. While beautiful terrariums are for sale, the spirit of making something new from old calls for going through the basement shelves.
I found a couple of lovely canning jars. They have nice lids, but you can also have a piece of glass cut for a nice glass container that does not have a top. Make sure the glass store worker sands the edges (or do it yourself if you cut glass at home) so you can pick it up without injury.
Wash your container well and then put a layer of little stones or marbles in the bottom or line it with moss. You can buy special tools for working in terrariums, but it is more fun to find slender old forks and chopsticks that can reach to the bottom. Adding a little activated charcoal from the pet store is recommended for keeping the garden fresh, but I have not found this makes that much difference.
Now for the fun. Look for small plants at local stores, especially those that thrive in a moist environment and low light. Also, carefully look at your own houseplants and remove small shoots and sprouts to plant in your new garden.
Ferns of all kinds work very well, especially maidenhair and button ferns. Swedish ivy and miniature ivies thrive and you can even plant a tip snipped from your plant. It will probably root quickly and begin to grow. Crotons add brilliant tropical colors, polka dot plants contribute pastels and coffee plants grow beautifully in a closed environment.
Water sparingly, close the top and place in a cool, bright place where you can enjoy every new leaf while you wait for the first outside ones to sprout.
A recent request for a split pea soup recipe sent me tumbling back in time to Pleasant Garden School where an “interesting” teacher made us breathe into our terrariums every day. It was so long ago that when the cafeteria trash cans filled up with uneaten split pea soup, Mr. Ayers went to the only grocery store in the community and bought a package of dried green peas. As principal, he was so worried about food waste and hungry children that he worked diligently to remove all obstacles to pea soup eating and thought that showing us the ingredients was a good use of his afternoon.
I have not seen a bowl of split pea since that long ago day and was pleasantly surprised when my test recipe turned out to be hearty and delicious. All you really need are the peas and a little water, but the few vegetables and seasonings combined well. I had leftover ham and ham stock from the holidays, but you can substitute chicken broth or make this vegetarian. Add this old-fashioned soup to your current menu and you will have a good start on New Year's resolutions of thrift and nutrition.
Split Pea Soup
You can buy peas in a package just as Mr. Ayers did at the Pleasant Garden Grocery or choose nice fresh ones in natural food store bins. If you don't have a pod of dried red pepper, you can add about a teaspoon of red pepper flakes. If you have ground cloves and don't have any whole ones on hand, add a very tiny pinch near the end of cooking with the black pepper. For a richer dish, you can toss the bread cubes with olive oil or melted butter, but the spirit of the dish seems to call for plain ones. Use whatever leftover bread is in your kitchen, but of course whole grain ups the nutrition considerably.
1 pound dry green split peas
Water or ham stock
1 dried hot pepper
2 large bay leaves
2 whole cloves
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 pound ham
3 large onions
Salt
Sugar
5 large celery stalks
5 large carrots or 10 small ones
6 large cloves garlic
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly ground nutmeg, optional
1 cup milk, optional
Croutons or leftover bread, for serving
Wash the peas and sort through them to make sure there are not any little rocks in with them or any discolored or misshaped peas. Place the split peas into a large pot with enough water to cover and about two to three inches above that. You will need about 2 quarts of water or stock and you will need more later. Add the hot pepper, two cloves and the bay leaves to the pot and bring to a simmer.
Lower the heat and simmer very slowly.
Heat the oil and melt the butter in a large skillet. Cut the ham into small slivers and cook in the oil mixture until golden brown. Transfer the ham to the peas, leaving as much butter and oil in the skillet as possible. Peel the onions and chop into medium dice. Cook in the butter/oil/ham drippings, adding a little sprinkling of salt and sugar to help brown.
As soon as the onion is translucent, cut the celery into the same size pieces and add to the skillet. Continue to cook while you peel the carrots if the peeling is tough and cut them into similar pieces. Add the carrots to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until everything is golden. Next, peel the garlic and cut into thin slices. Add to the skillet and cook, stirring constantly for just a couple of minutes until the garlic is fragrant. Add all of the vegetables to the simmering peas. Put another cup of water into the skillet and cook on high until the water is simmering and all of the tasty pan bits are ready to be added to the soup pot; then pour into the peas.
Continue cooking until the peas are tender. This will take from 60 to 90 minutes depending on the age of your peas. Cut some leftover bread into cubes and bake in a 300-degree oven for about 20 to 30 minutes until they are toasted and light brown for the croutons.
Add about a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper and a very small pinch of nutmeg. If desired, add about a cup of milk or, if you are not using the milk, add more water if needed to make a soupy consistency. Find and remove the bay leaves, cloves and hot pepper. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, black pepper or hot pepper if needed.
Serve piping hot, topped with croutons. The soup tastes wonderful when reheated the next day, but reheat carefully because the thick soup burns easily. Add a little more milk or water as needed when reheating.
To make a comment, ask a question or find out more about sources, contact Amy at amycookehcp@bellsouth.net.
Community Interest
News & Notes
Events
Arts & Entertainment
