Because it's green?

We broke with tradition yesterday, to the dismay of a few (but not most), and did not have Corned Beef & Cabbage, per se, to celebrate my brother's birthday.  We did have Reuben panini -- made with corned beef and sauerkraut (technically cabbage) on marbled rye -- and it was YUM!

From the minute I saw E is for Erwtensoep (Dutch Pea Soup), I knew I had to make it, and then it got into my head that it would be the perfect other half of a celebratory St. Paddy's birthday soup and sandwich combo -- if only because it's green.

It is quite possible that new traditional ground has been trodden -- The Dutch-Irish lunch was PERFECT!!  The panini were wonderful and just the right size, the soup was delicious... and devoured.  I was kind of planning on leftover pea soup for lunch today, but it wasn't meant to be!

I made the soup late on Saturday.  I had a momentary lapse at the grocery store while shopping for ingredients and came home with a fresh pork loin instead of a pork shoulder (ham).  It was late, so I cut it into three pieces and threw it into the pot, increasing the cooking time in the "puree stage" to 2-1/2 to 3 hours rather than the 45 minutes stated in the recipe; the pork shredded nicely!  I used smoked turkey sausage and more salt was required as seasoning because of the lack of ham, but otherwise the recipe was followed exactly.

In celebration of F is for Food... I mean FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!... Lab Cat is having a Food Fest over the next two weeks... already a post up today... so check it out.

Blogging these past almost-four years has done as much for my cooking and food repertoire as it has for my knitting... Dutch Pea Soup will join notable blog favorites such as Chili All Day, Roasted Tomato Sauce, and La Bete Noir in my recipe box.

Oh, and there was Carrot Cake for dessert yesterday... guess who licked the beater (and the spoon!).  Little bro's filling in on the left, just doin' his job as Eye Candy.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Comments

[Carole]

We're having corned beef & cabbage tonight - I can't break tradition! Your soup sounds wonderful!

[Mary]

We had corned beef and veggies (no cabbage--too smelly) yesterday with leftover corned beef for sandwiches tonight. Plus, I joined the in-laws all across the country today in making the traditional green icebox cake.

You have a good carrot cake recipe you'd like to share?

[margene]

The carrot cake sounds wonderful;-)

[Charlotte]

I'm going to the kitchen to put on my corned beef and cabbage in just a few minutes. I forgot to get carrots at the store and must go buy them first. Your Dutch-Irish lunch sounds like it had a touch of Italian in it too -- panini.

[deb]

We're sick here so probably just toast. But maybe some Irish Breakfast tea!

[Alexandra]

Oh I'm so glad you tried the soup recipe and liked it! It's very exciting that someone from far away read one of my posts and then acted on it. That's such a cool thing. :-)
I have your blog in my bloglines and read it regularly. Thanks for the link and enjoy the soup!

[Tonia]

Happy St. Patty's Day! I hope that you all are doing well. I can see that the little ones are growing like weeds. Hopefully I will be able to keep up with posts now and be able to comment. I feel so bad not doing so receintly.

[KarenJoSeattle]

Hey, I planned to do F is for Food. Guess I'd better get my E up soon.

[Norma]

Yummmm, pea soup! Love it. Love those little licker photos, too.

[Carol]

Oh that sounds sooo good! I can not believe how fast those two cuties are growing!

[Amy]

Gnah, I totally need a Reuben right now! :)

[Celia]

Mm-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m! Split pea soup! Now that's all I want to eat. I guess I'll need to make some this weekend.