I’d like to say “picture this: Sicily, 1923″ or something equally fantastic, but the sordid truth is that, no, this is no war wound from ‘Nam. It’s an old volleyball injury. I played club from about 1990-1993, and once, when blocking at the net, I came down with my left foot on the foot of my opposite number. Ankle rolled, ligaments stretched… ouch.

It’s been about 2 decades, so I’d largely forgotten about it… until BOSU: my nemesis. It’s just like step (though in honesty, I didn’t get much of a cardio workout from it), as promised. Unfortunately, my left ankle wasn’t really into the “jump on the BOSU” part, so it rolled. Lame, lame, lame. Literally!

But: when life gives you lemons, you use them in delicious quinoa salad. And I will be all about the bike today. And maybe tomorrow, since there’s a spin class I’d like to check out…

To put a happy, fibre-filled twist on it all, I dusted off my split green and yellow peas and made soup. This recipe was once “Give Peas a Chance” in the Crazy Plates cookbook (by Janet and Greta Podleski), but I’ve made so many modifications over time that there are only a few signs left…

Spiced Pea Soup

2 tsp olive oil
1 chopped white onion
5 cloves garlic (or less! to taste…)
6 cups broth
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped celery
1 sweet potato, cubed
1 1/2 cups dried split yellow and green peas
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup mixed spices*
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1 cup frozen green peas

• Heat olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat and add the onions and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, until onions are almost transluscent.
• Add broth, carrots, celery, sweet potato, green and yellow peas, mint, mixed spices, parsley, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 20 minutes. ***Watch the soup carefully! I find it better to cook it just until the peas are cooked, but still have a bit of al dente to them. Simmering for too long reduces the peas to mush, which definitely affects the texture!***
• Stir in the romaine lettuce and peas, and stir until the lettuce wilts and the peas are cooked through. Remove from heat.
• Now blend! I like to use my hand mixer in the pot for this, because it doesn’t mulch it up as much as a blender does. I find it more enjoyable when there are still chewable bits (see the pic). As long as I still have all my teeth, I don’t need a totally-blended soup (which can be pleasing, but the heft of the ingredients here makes it better (I think) when it’s still a bit chunky).

* A word on mixed spices: I used to live and die by baked tilapia with a spicy rub. Then I became allergic to fish. Worst. Ever! So last night, as I began to make soup I noticed that I had some of my rub in the cupboard, mocking me and reminding me of diets past. Decision made: into the pot!

Since it had been about 4 months, I don’t remember *exactly* the proportions or what went in it, but I know that there was a) some chana masala spice from a box (only because it tipped over and fell into the bowl when I was mixing…), b) turmeric, c) mustard seed, d) dried mustard, and my fave, e) La Chinata

If you think 1/4 cup of mixed spices sounds like a lot, it’s only 4 tbsp—and I like a bit of bite in my food. Besides, the mustard seeds add a delightful bit of crunch without a piercingly hot flavour, so think of them more as valuable bulk…

The glory of split peas:

I love this soup for being significant enough to be a meal, though it’s best to stir in some cooked quinoa or have a whole grain in some form to make it a complete protein. The split pea is a good source of protein, fibre, and complex carbs, with a trace of fat. They’re also high in folate, provide magnesium and potassium. So while I don’t know the nutritional info of my soup exactly, I know that 1/2 cup of split green peas has 116 calories, .4g fat, 8.2g protein, and 3.1g fibre (yellow peas have more, but I don’t have the info at hand). How great is that?

UPDATE!: In my calorie-counting fun, I whacked together the nutritional info of this soup, based on the whole lot making 7 generous servings. Per bowl, this is: 261 calories; 2g fat; 15g fibre; 9g sugars; 14.7g protein.

In other news: J hasn’t warmed up to blog commenting yet, but she sent me an email that supports the cake trade. Or, in theory she does, but I’m not sure if she just *wants* the cake or if she knows she needs to trade me for it: one cake in exchange for her taking better care of herself… I’d still call this progress!