Peas Porridge Hot

And another quick and easy recipe for you, that is, if you have a slow-cooker. (And who doesn't have at least three, two that they've given away!) . . .

Tired, bored, cold?  Grab that package of dried green split peas that you've had on your shelf for awhile, remove the peas from the package (no, this isn't one of those new-fangled packages inside of which you're supposed to cook the meal) and place peas in a strainer, rinse well (the strainer first, if it's been sitting around in the open, then the peas in the strainer) with cool (NOT HOT) water.   Toss the peas (not the strainer) into the crock that belongs to your crock pot, add whatever you happen to have around -- at the least, enough water to make the soup, some chicken or vegetable broth if you have any in the freezer . . .  Gather fresh vegetables: a good-sized onion (peeled), a clove a garlic (peeled), a carrot (peeled), a stick of celery with leaves, some fresh parsley,  a small potato (NOT peeled) . . . and now the trick.  Don't waste your time chopping.  Simply put the vegetables whole into the pot with the hot water/broth/split peas.  Add a bay leaf and simmer for 8 hours on low.  Just before serving, remove whole vegetables from broth and blend in your Cuisinart or whatever blender you happen to have on hand.  (Marash Girl got a new Cuisinart for Christmas, and she's always looking for excuses to use it!)  Add the blended vegetables to the pea soup.  Add salt, pepper, Marash red pepper.  (Aintab red pepper is no longer available in the Middle Eastern stores, thanks to ISIS!)  Stir and serve.  (If you want to fancy it up a bit, add a dollop of sour cream or unflavored yogurt to the top of each bowl of soup.) This soup gets better by the day . . . remember the old adage (credited to Mother Goose):  "Peas porridge hot; peas porridge cold; peas porridge in the pot, nine days old.  Some like it hot; some like it cold; some like it in the pot, nine days old!"