Split Pea Soup

For Jill. :)


1 lb. dried split peas, sorted and rinsed
8 c. water (sometimes I'll replace part of the water with chicken broth)
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium celery stalks, finely chopped
1/4 tsp. pepper
salt to taste
1 ham bone (if I don't have one, I usually just cut up a ham steak and add at the end)
3 medium carrots, sliced or chopped

Heat peas and water to boiling in 4-quart Dutch oven. Boil uncovered 2 minutes; remove from heat. Cover and let stand 1 hour. Stir in onion, celery and pepper. Add ham bone. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 1 hour 30 minutes or until peas are tender.  Remove ham bone; remove ham from bone. Trim excess fat from ham; cut ham into 1/2-inch pieces.  Stir ham and carrots into soup. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes or until carrots are tender and soup is desired consistency (I like to cook a bit longer until the soup gets "creamy" -- so that you can't really see the individual peas anymore).