Recipe - House Pea Soup

2 tablespoon Olive oil
2 lg Onions; chopped
1 tablespoon Chopped garlic
1 pound Green split peas; picked
over,
And rinsed
4 cn Lowsodium chicken broth ;
(14 One half ounce ea)
4 cup Water
1 Smoked ham shank
(or 2 smoked ham hocks)
2 Bay leaves
1 teaspoon Dried thyme
1 teaspoon Freshly ground pepper
6 lg Celery stalks; chopped
5 Slender carrots; thinly
cut or sliced up

Heat oil in 5quart pot over mediumhigh heat. Add 1 chopped onion (about 2
cups) and One half tablespoon garlic. Cook until softened, stirring often, about
4 minutes. Add peas, broth, water, ham shank, bay leaves, thyme and pepper,
then bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, 1 hour. Remove ham
shank, trim meat off bone and return meat to pot. Discard bone. Add celery,
carrots and remaining chopped onion and garlic. Simmer, covered, stirring
occasionally, until carrots are tender and soup slightly thickened, about
40 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste. Can be served immediately,
refrigerated up to 4 days or frozen for up to 1 month. (Note: The soup
thickens considerably when stored in the refrigerator or freezer.) When
ready to serve, gently reheat, stirring in water until it's the consistency
you like. The soup should be thick and wellseasoned. Yields 6 to 8
maincourse