If you lose the spirit of repetition, your practice will become quite difficult.
- Shunryu Suzuki
During retreat season, we spend more time than usual in the kitchen cooking for the courageous souls who come to do this spiritual practice. That means we prepare the same soups, salads, and spreads more frequently, since we have a special retreat menu that we use this time of year. I sometimes catch conditioned mind complaining, "Are we having split pea soup again?" Organic, homemade split pea soup twice in one month—talk about a first-world "problem!" Yet, I've noticed that when I actually sit down to the bowl of soup, look at its creamy texture and taste its goodness, gratitude and pleasure instantly replace the story of boredom, proving, once again, that every moment is new and that being present trumps living in a conversation with conditioned mind every time!
Here is your invitation to taste this soup again, for the first time.
Gassho,
Rebecca
Split Pea Soup
3 cups split peas, rinsed
8 cups hot water
2 cups (1/2 lb) carrots, diced ½”
2 cups (approximately 3 stalks) celery, chopped in ½” pieces
1 onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, grated
1 tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. basil
½ tsp. cumin
½ tsp. coarsely ground pepper
1 ½ tsp. salt
1. Rinse the split peas and place them in a large pot.
2. Add water and bring to a simmer, cover loosely and cook until disintegrated or until they are as disintegrated as they are willing to get, skimming any foam that develops. If they do not disintegrate completely, puree them.
3. In a separate pot, sauté in water all the other ingredients, loosely covered, and cook until the vegetables are very tender, about a half-hour. Add some of the bean liquid (not with actual peas in it) and simmer for another 20 minutes or so.
4. Combine the cooked vegetables with the peas and serve hot. Adjust water as needed.
Serves 8.