My turn: Oh, for a bowl of Mom's split-pea soup
My mom never went to culinary school. She never followed a written recipe. She cooked from memory and she never used any measuring device. Not everything she cooked came out tasting divine. But there is one dish she made that always comes to mind this time of year - especially when the snow is falling - and that's Mom's split-pea soup with frankfurters.
I recall as a child watching my mom put all types of ingredients in a pot, mashing the peas, and adding carrots, salt, pepper and garlic. Then she would add the sliced frankfurters she boiled separately.
She would constantly stir and then let it simmer for an hour. The aroma was all through our apartment, and it smelled enticing. It made my mouth water and I couldn't wait for that first taste of her thick pea soup.
For the past half-century, I have tried many variations of split-pea soup. I have gone to some of the best restaurants and had this soup prepared by the best chefs in the world. But none compare to my mom's split-pea soup.
All these chefs can learn a lesson from her pea soup.
The only problem is, she never wrote down the recipe.
Martin Blumberg,
Melville