Soupe au pois

AKA French Canadian Pea Soup

I LOVE this soup. My "taste tester" loves it too - by the way, he was not a fan of soup when I met him, but I've since converted him! Add a nice chunk of bread and you have a great dinner on a cold rainy Vancouver day. This is traditional, no improving on the real deal.

1 bag of yellow or green split peas, rinsed and picked of any delinquent peas
1 hamhock
1 onion, cut in half
fresh thyme sprigs, go fresh it's worth it here
water or veggie stock

In a large heavy duty saucepan add peas, hamhock and onion. Top with water or stock, the liquid should just cover the hamhock.

Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low. Stir well (and every 10-15 minutes) so it does not stick to the bottom of the pan, or it can be nasty. Add whole thyme sprigs and pepper. Simmer the soup for...well, there's no set time here, you just simmer until it gets a bit thick. But mine takes approx 1 hour.

Remove the onion, thyme, and hamhock. Let ham cool a few minutes before removing the meat from the bone and shredding with a fork. Return shredded meat to soup and season accordingly with salt and pepper. The hamhock can be quite salty so wait until the end to add salt or you may regret it. If you find that your soup has gotten toooo thick, simply thin out with a bit of water.

Serve yourself a nice big bowl and send me a thank you email : )

Banana muffins

These have been a regular snack for me in my third trimester. I've even gone as far as to freeze some to have on hand after baby comes.

This is a modified rendition of the Joy of Cooking's Banana Nut Muffins. I make them by hand in one large mixing bowl.


Makes 12 muffins

2-3 ripe bananas
1 egg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla

1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 flax meal or wheat bran
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375F.
Mash the banana with a potato masher, add the egg, sugar, butter and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.

Add the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Do no overmix. Add the walnuts and chocolate chips, stir to distribute in batter.

Line a 12 muffin tin with paper liners. Divide batter evenly into tin, bake for 17-21 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Enjoy with a glass of chocolate milk!