Veggie French Canadian Soup

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c dried yellow split peas
• 1 Tbsp margarine or butter
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp savory
• 4 c chicken style vegetarian broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 drops Liquid Smoke
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (optional)

Directions:

1. Wash and sort split peas. Place them in a pot with a quart of water and bring them to a boil.
2. Turn off heat, cover, and allow to stand and soften for one hour.
3. Heat butter and oil over medium low in a heavy 2-quart or larger pot. Saute onion, celery and carrot for about 5 minutes until soft.
4. Add garlic, thyme, savory, and drained split peas and saute one minute.
5. Pour in the chicken style broth; add bay leaf, smoke flavoring, salt and pepper. Bring to boil and reduce heat to low.
6. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes.
7. Uncover and simmer another 10 minutes, or until peas are tender and partially dissolve into the soup. (For finer consistency, puree with hand blender.)
8. If desired, stir in lemon juice just before serving.