Veggie Split Pea Soup with Lotsa Asiago Cheese

This will be our very first winter here in Cape Breton. When we first started mentioning to friends and acquaintances that we were planning on moving here the first question out of their mouth was: "Aren't you worried about the winters there?" Every time. Our response was: "We live in Canada. It sucks everywhere." My husband and I have both lived in various areas that are known as "snow belts."  Sometimes highways get closed. Sometimes we couldn't get out of our driveway never mind down the road (which actually says more about the City of Guelph's plowing priorities.) In Ontario we'd get the "wet cold" which everyone knows is MUCH worse than a "dry cold." (But is it really? I don't actually know.) Some of my work colleagues would head out to Saskatoon to do a locum there. Apparently the summers are quite beautiful. And the winters? Brutally cold. As in "you can't use your phone outside" cold. "You need to plug your car in" cold. Vancouver? Well just don't even get me started there. All that rain. I think I would still prefer some beautifully white crisp snow over all that rain. My sister and brother in law worked in Nunavut. During a snow storm they were advised to walk with a buddy otherwise they might not see you again. And if a stranger in a truck pulled along side you as you were walking home and told you to get in to the truck?...get in to the damn truck...otherwise you might become a polar bear's dinner. True story.

So am I worried? Heck yes. We've been warned about les suetes. We've already experienced a few minor ones. And our house is located in les suetes epicentre. Our Border Collie seems to derive more energy in correlation to the wind speed. He loves it! I love the wild rugged beauty of the waves crashing up onto the rocks. I love watching the gulls and crows glide and hover. The eagles seem to especially love the craziness of it all. I love watching the clouds and the way the light changes on the Highlands. I've also been told not to worry too much about the snow....the wind will just blow it all away. Great! Sure it is. Insert nervous laugh. So yes I'm worried, but you need to try to find the beauty within the storm (yes it's totally cliche)....which I will try to enjoy from the comfort of our double bolted down home, our propane fireplace (currently on backorder, may arrive sometime within the next two years), with the music turned up loud to drown out the sound of the winds (I've been in to Jazz lately), bingeing on comfort foods (ice cream bars, All Dressed Chips, Nibs) with a wee bit of wine....or something stronger like scotch whiskey.  Note to self: stock up on the whiskey. And on another positive note, there is a distillery not far from here. Hurray!

In preparation for the many upcoming months of wind, snow, cold and early sunsets... I've started preparing some wholesome comfort food. Just can't go wrong with soup. Split pea veggie soup with a whole lotta cheese. And then some more cheese for good measure. Scoop it up with my sister's homemade COVID Sourdough bread. She's really perfected it now....her bread has a great lip on it (I just recently learned what that was) and she has amazing scoring technique. Pretty and delicious!

When life throws you challenges and scary moments.... there is still beauty in there somewhere. You just need to find it. And the whiskey will help keep us warm when the power goes it. We've totally got this.

Cheers from Bistro 164. Stay safe.

Veggie Split Pea Soup

Ingredients

Veggie oil, about 2 tbsps or so

1 onion, diced

1 tbsp of diced garlic in oil

8 cups of either water, chicken broth or veggie broth (I used up what I had of both veggie and chicken broth)

450 grams of Split Yellow Peas ( 1 package of Thompson Split Yellow Peas)

2 bay leaves

2-3 cups of diced carrots

1 cup of diced sweet peppers

2 cups of diced tomatoes

Freshly ground salt and pepper

Grated Asiago cheese (or Parmesan if you have it)

Directions

Rinse off the split peas with cold water and discard any debris if necessary. Add veggie oil to your soup pot, heat to medium-high and add in the onion and garlic. Sauté until soft. Add in the water/stock, split peas and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and boil gently for 30 minutes. 

Add the carrots, sweet peppers and tomatoes. Cook for another 30 minutes or until veggies are soft. Discard the bay leaves. For a creamy soup, puree about 2-3 cups of the soup with a hand blender and add back in to the soup. Creamy without the cream. Wonderful.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with grated Asiago cheese. And then add some more cheese. Can never have enough cheese. Serve Warm.