Week One: Split Pea Soup

My first attempt at cooking, I decided to make split pea soup.  So I took the recipe from the back of the split pea bag of the Safeway brand and got started.

Recipe:
6 cups water
6 cups chicken broth
6 cloves of garlic
2 carrots (chopped)
2 tbsp olive oil
4 basil leaves (whole)
1 bag of split pea soup

The recipe called for ham hock (which by the way I had no idea what it was, asked the meat guy. Very helpful).  Per serving it was 11 g of fat.  A little too much for my taste.  I thought I could improvise.  So I substituted chicken broth, low sodium for the ham. 

Victories: 
1. It tasted really good.  Biggest concern was the flavor being bold enough to taste.  (Secret: stir-fry carrots, garlic & olive oil first till brown.  Then add water/broth bring to a boil then simmer for 1 1/2 hours)  Then add peas.

Blunders:
1. Underestimated to time for it to cook.  My stove's simmer was not enough heat to match the cooking time of the package.  It said 1 1/2 cook time.  Yeah right.  I ended up sticking it in a crock pot over night to cook.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience.  See you all next week.