I had been craving cabbage for a couple days—it was a weird enough for me to actually notice it. When I woke up feeling achey and out of it, like I’d be able to listen to the Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows” and think it makes complete and perfect sense, I realized I must have needed something restorative—aka cabbage, which has long been regarded as a health-promoting food. It’s rich in Vitamin A, B6, C, E, K, Thiamin (a B-vitamin), Folic acid (another B-vitamin), Potassium, Selenium, Calcium, Magnesium, Manganese, Iron, and Fiber.

Of course, I wasn’t too out of it to go to the produce market across the street. I grabbed a nice-looking little green cabbage along with some other soup necessities and waited until I actually had motivation to get up off the couch (around 6:30) to throw together a new soup. And hence, this Yellow Split Pea-and-Cabbage Soup was born…

Ingredients:

• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic (or more), minced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 carrots, grated or pulsed in a food processor
• 1 lb yellow split peas, rinsed (not soaked)
• 6 cups vegetable broth or 2 vegetable bouillon cubes dissolved in 6 cups water
• 1 lb yellow split peas, rinsed
• 1 small head green cabbage, shredded
• salt and pepper to taste
• lots of turmeric (optional but good for colds)

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, and carrot. Cook until soft.
2. Add broth and split peas. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
3. Add cabbage and seasonings. You will also need to add more water. I added around 2.5 cups more. Cover again and allow to simmer for about another 30 minutes.
4. Serve hot, preferably with crusty bread…or toast if you’re too tired to go out and buy crusty bread.