To me, that means one thing: soup. Soup is comforting, warming and delicious. It’s always a great way to load up with healthy veggies, and can be incredibly simple to make. What more can you ask?

One of my favorite soups is split pea soup. I only figured this out last year, but now I am super convinced of this fact. It’s the 8-ingredient pathway to deliciousness and satisfaction.

Split Pea Soup

• 1-2 tb olive oil or bacon fat
• 1 med yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1-2 good sized carrots, diced
• 1 medium potato, diced
• 2 c split peas, rinsed and checked for debris
• 1 c ham, diced
• ~4 c stock or water
• salt, pepper

1. Melt the fat of your choice (bacon fat does really nice things in this, I swear) in a dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. I love my Le Creuset for making soup.
2. Add the onions, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and stir. I like kosher salt.
3. Turn heat down to medium-low. Simmer the onions, stirring occasionally, until they are very soft and beginning to caramelize.
4. Add carrots and potatoes and stir. Add split peas. Stir again.
5. Add water or stock until veggies are just covered.
6. Turn heat to high until it comes to a boil. Then, turn down heat to low and simmer until veggies are cooked and split peas are softened.
7. Blend soup. I like to use an immersion blender, but you can also use a regular blender with great care (filling less than half way, and covering top with a towel). I like to blend the whole soup, because then I can chop my veggies less precisely, but you can also blend a portion of it.
8. Add ham.
9. Eat. Yummy!