split pea soup with a ham hock!
SchoneSchoup Winterlich*

2 cups dry split peas
1 head garlic
1 box container of broth (we used chicken). or use 3 cups of your own broth/stock!
A couple cups of water
3 tbsp butter
3 tb bacon grease
1 potato (we used a big russet potato. .79/lb, y'all!)
1 onion
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
1 ham hock (whole foods didn't have any - new seasons always does)
2 bay leaves
WINE! WINE!
salt & pepper, we didn't use much, probably because we used store-bought broth.

Chop the garlic finely (but messy chopping is fine - just do it smallish) and chop the onions, carrots, celery & potato rather large. They'll all mush up really well, so the little consistency the veggies will have if you chop them large, you will want.

Some butter, low heat, in your large stockpot! Then the garlic for just a second, then all the vegetables. Stir them around, add some more fat (either the butter or the bacon grease), let everything sweat for a few minutes, stirring very regularly, especially if you have a crappy thin-bottomed cauldron like I do :(

Add the broth/stock. Add ham hock and peas. Add bay leaves. Add more water if you need to - everything should be covered with liquid by a sloshy amount. Though it will be marginally less tasty, you can always add more water later if you're not sure now.

Turn the heat up to high, let it boil, and then turn the heat back down to a simmer, add the remaining fat that you didn't use earlier & a splash of wine, put a lid on it, and go watch a movie in your living room.

Come back in about two hours (stirring every once in a while, especially with previously mentioned thin-bottomed Target pot syndrome) and smell for a while. Then, take the ham hock out of the soup, scrape the soupy bits off, and then move it to a plate to cut all the meat off, and then into smallish pieces. Return all the meat to the soup, stir it up, & serve!

You could definitely serve this with some really awesome crusty bread or baguette or something, but it's EXTREMELY filling, so don't worry if you didn't think of that essential soup thing.

VARIATIONS!
a little less rich: use less fat, duh! in fact, the next time I make it, I probably will try to use less as it was extremely rich the way it was. the ham adds a lot, I think.
veggie: don't do it! :(

this was the sick soup that we made for my boyfriend when he was really sick this past weekend. we just came up with the recipe on our own & winged it. ohgod, it was so good - easily one of the best soups I have ever eaten.

*note: there is nothing even remotely german about this soup, aside from the obvious appreciation of putting large hunks of meat into just about anything. I just made up the stupid name and now I like it.