St. Patrick's Day Green Split Pea Soup:

1 cup green split peas, soaked, discard soaking water

5 - 6 cups water

1 tablespoon dulse, or kombu or 1 bayleaf

½ cup burdock, diced (optional)

1 cup onions or leeks, diced

1 cup carrots, diced

½ cup celery diced

1 - 2 tablespoons sesame oil

sea salt to taste

several slices of whole wheat sourdough bread, cubed and pan fried in a little olive oil

scallion garnish

Heat the oil in a soup pot and sauté the onions until glassy. Add the split peas, dulse, other vegetables and water. Cook until split peas and vegetables are soft.

Serve with scallion garnish and fried bread cubes.

Using the highest quality ingredients makes a huge difference in terms of the flavor and health benefits of the soup.

When you select split peas: look for smaller varieties with a bright green color (as opposed to pale or gray green). The bright green color indicates freshness of the split peas - they cook faster and taste more delicious. Pale green or gray green varieties are often rancid.

Taste your raw vegetables - especially the carrots and celery: do they taste delicious or bitter or bland? Choose delicious tasting vegetables for best outcome and more nutrients.

The quality of oil and salt is also extremely important: if the oil tastes rancid, the soup will taste rancid (as well as creating free radicals in the body). Please store oils for long term use in the refrigerator.

Good quality sea salt will taste mildly salty if placed on the tip of the tongue, inferior quality sea salt will have an almost stinging or biting effect on the tip of the tongue.

Enjoy!