Pease porridge hot . . .

Yellow. I’ve been thinking a lot about yellow recently. The yellow daffodils are blooming in the neighborhood, a sure sign that spring is around the corner; my lemon trees are heavy with ripe, yellow fruit; my favorite piece of fabric at the moment is yellow with metallic gold dragonflies printed on it. So, when Zorra, of 1x umrühren bitte, sent out an invitation to join her in celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8, I immediately started thinking about yellow-food possibilities.

Why is it, at those moments, that your mind goes blank and you can’t think of any yellow food? Luckily, the empty-mind-syndrome didn’t last, and I soon had an abundance of ideas. Checking my pantry, I discovered a jar of yellow split peas, tucked in a corner. Split pea soup? Even better – split pea chowder. There was a recipe stuck in the dried peas, so I decided to give it a try. This made a tasty and colorful lunch with enough left over for another day

Celebrate all the great accomplishments of women the world over with your favorite yellow food, and be sure to check out all the other choices on Zorra’s blog.

Yellow split pea chowder

1 cup yellow split peas

1 cup diced red bell pepper

1 cup diced green bell pepper

1 cup diced onion

3 strips of bacon

3 ½ cups milk

3 tablespoons flour

1 ½ teaspoons dry mustard

salt and pepper to taste

1. Pick over the dried peas; cover with water and simmer until tender, but not mushy, about 20 to 25 minutes. Drain.

2. Cook the bacon until crisp, remove and drain, reserving the drippings. Saute the diced vegetables in the bacon drippings, stirring frequently, until they are cooked.

3. Mix the flour and mustard in ½ cup milk. Heat over low heat, stirring, but do not boil. Gradually add the remaining milk, stirring until thickened. Add the cooked peas, the vegetables, and the crumbled bacon. Cook gently over low heat until warmed through. Season to taste.

Make about 8 cups. Recipe can be halved.