feels like a soup day
By Kelli M
@spiderdust (14741)
San Jose, California
September 16, 2023 3:29pm CST
It might get up to the mid-70s today (F, so around 24C), but it's currently grey and overcast, and I have 2 lbs of yellow split peas in the cabinet calling my name. Split pea soup for dinner tonight!
I just diced up a whole onion plus some carrots and celery, so that's ready to go. I had the energy for it now, so I figured I'd just get it out of the way. I also have a thawed package of bacon in the fridge that I didn't use a few days ago, so I'll use that to help give it some good flavor. Mom used to include potatoes in her split pea soup, but I think I'll skip that. She didn't use bacon for it either, but simmered beef neckbones or a hambone to make the stock instead.
There are 2 kids who will protest, but one of them will be at work and not home for dinner tonight, and the other can either eat that or have a peanut butter sandwich.
I've also started a batch of cold brew coffee for me to have at work this week, and I've made a batch of homemade refried beans in the Instant Pot (after they cool, I'll package those up for the freezer for future meals).
I had a piece of leftover homemade spinach turkey pesto stromboli (from dinner 2 nights ago) for my lunch -- the turkey was herbed turkey breast free from work, the pizza dough was free from work, the pesto was some that I made and froze a couple of months ago, and the Monterey Jack cheese was free from work. I think the spinach was the only part of the stromboli that I purchased! 
I'm continuing to use up what I have on hand and buying as few groceries as possible. The household member who pays the mortgage is still out of work (although he has 2 interviews this week), so I'm still trying to spend as little as I can.
(photo not mine)
I'm continuing to use up what I have on hand and buying as few groceries as possible. The household member who pays the mortgage is still out of work (although he has 2 interviews this week), so I'm still trying to spend as little as I can.
(photo not mine)15 people like this
14 responses
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
16 Sep
No hambone in this one, but I will be using some pork cooking liquid that I have in the freezer.
2 people like this
@RebeccasFarm (86828)
• United States
16 Sep
@spiderdust Yeah my favorite is the hambone though.
2 people like this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
16 Sep
@RebeccasFarm Oh, definitely! And I'll probably make some later in the year with a hambone.
You just reminded me that I might have a ham hock in the freezer. Still, I have thawed bacon right now and will use that today. I'll save the ham hock for later.
3 people like this
@snowy22315 (170599)
• United States
16 Sep
That sounds delicious Thank God it is finally cool enough for soup.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (170599)
• United States
17 Sep
@spiderdust I celebrated my first soup of the season a few days ago
2 people like this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
17 Sep
Indeed! While it wasn't as hot of a summer as we usually have, it was still usually too warm for soup.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
17 Sep
@snowy22315 Oh, what kind did you have? Did you post about it? I'll go look.
2 people like this
@much2say (53944)
• Los Angeles, California
17 Sep
Ohhh, I love split pea soup! We usually have it with daughter's corn bread . . . but we haven't had this soup in a long time 
. It's kinda overcast here too . . . perfect weather for split pea soup! Will keep my fingers crossed for him on those interviews. I know you can be frugal - and it's great that you work where you do!!
. It's kinda overcast here too . . . perfect weather for split pea soup! Will keep my fingers crossed for him on those interviews. I know you can be frugal - and it's great that you work where you do!!2 people like this
@much2say (53944)
• Los Angeles, California
19 Sep
@spiderdust That is awesome . . . I think you have extremely thoughtful coworkers as well 
!
!1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
18 Sep
I really am lucky where I work. I think several of my coworkers are realizing that we're pretty much just eating what we already have in the pantry or what we get for free, which is why they'll sometimes bring me stuff directly to make sure that I'm the one who gets it.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (206658)
• Walnut Creek, California
3 Oct
@spiderdust I hope he does well.
2 people like this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
3 Oct
He had an all-day interview with one of the companies this week, having gone through some of the initial interviews and moving on to the next stage. He said he felt good about it.
I do hope one of the companies hires him. I'd hate for us to have to sell the house.
2 people like this
@LindaOHio (157330)
• United States
17 Sep
Kelli! It's good to see you! Split pea soup sounds good. Where do you work that you get so many freebies? If you don't mind my asking... Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
2 people like this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
17 Sep
I work at a fancy small chain grocery store. As part of their mission to serve the community and to reduce waste, they put all of the "discards" (things close to expiration, things that can't be sold due to missing labels, etc.) in a refrigerator in the receiving area in the back or on a shelving unit in the breakroom, and those items are free for employees or vendors to take home.
Sometimes there's a lot, sometimes not very much, but they help out my household a lot. There's always day-old bread of some kind, often there's yogurt. Sometimes there are what they call "mispicks", where something gets delivered to the store that we don't sell (like cheese labeled with another business's name, or brands we simply don't carry), and those are like gold because they're brand new and undamaged, but still free for us. I recently brought home two 2-lb bricks of Monterey Jack cheese that were in the donation fridge because they were mispicks. I shredded one of them and put the other in the freezer. The pizza dough that I got was being discarded because the bags were accidentally sliced when the case was opened.
The turkey was the end of a deli meat chub that got too short for them to get nice slices from anymore, and the deli manager usually just wraps those ends up and gives them away to employees. The bacon for the soup was free from the donation fridge too... come to think of it, *everything* from that soup was free, as well as the rosemary garlic toast that I served on the side, so that was a really cheap meal for us.
2 people like this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
17 Sep
@LindaOHio I can plan around them a little, but I never know what I'm going to find. I have to be creative with it.
2 people like this
@LindaOHio (157330)
• United States
17 Sep
@spiderdust Wow! That's really great. You can plan meals around those things and save a bundle. How great for you! Have a good week.
1 person likes this
@thislittlepennyearns (58269)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
17 Sep
I found a gift card for Dominos so thats what we had for dinner.
ITs already wrecking my stomach. I wish they would hurry up and do things to make me feel better.
Bring me some souuuuuup
2 people like this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
19 Sep
Hooray for Domino's cards! (But boo to it tearing up your stomach)
1 person likes this
@thislittlepennyearns (58269)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
20 Sep
@spiderdust Everything tears up my stomach these days. It sounds like I'm going to have to go back to the Doctor this week too.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (157674)
• United States
23 Sep
You do what you can, and eat smart. I know you are grateful for the things you can get at work. I have been given a lot of peas and beans in the past and I will enjoy eating them. Of course it is just Bob and me.
2 people like this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
26 Sep
I have a lot of lentils right now, and even the kids who will happily eat beans aren't crazy about lentils. I've considered mixing cooked black lentils into ground beef to see if they notice, but I don't want to waste the meat in case they really object.
There were 4 lbs of roasted vegetables (carrot, zucchini, eggplant, bell pepper, onion, garlic) left over at work, and one of the cooks sent them home with me instead of throwing them away. I put them in my Instant Pot with a big can of crushed tomatoes, some more garlic, some Italian seasoning, and some beef broth, cooked them for 5 more minutes to make them softer, and then blended it all up with my stick blender. I used a third of the batch as the sauce for baked ziti tonight and the rest is going into the freezer for later.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
17 Sep
This pesto turned out so good! I borrowed the recipe from work and scaled it down to more reasonable portions. It helped me use up some hazelnuts and spinach, and I only had to buy a little bit of basil to make it. I froze it in 1/4 cup portions.
2 people like this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
16 Sep
I'm not sure what I'm going to serve with the soup. Maybe cheese toasts and cut-up fruit.
2 people like this
@kaylachan (58294)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
16 Sep
@spiderdust That sounds like a plan.
2 people like this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
1 Nov
That is sometimes the best kind, homemade chicken noodle.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137142)
• United States
16 Sep
I thawed a bowl of chicken, cheese and broccoli soup for my lunch. It's delicious.
I've been wondering how you were doing... I'm glad you seem to be doing okay.
Good luck to the person with the job interviews!
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137142)
• United States
16 Sep
@spiderdust Or something else medical or robotics related.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
16 Sep
The most promising sounding place is in the business of creating robotic surgical arms.
2 people like this
@mom210 (9041)
• United States
13 Oct
I'm with you, it is a soup day. I also have a couple that do not care for sou. They can make themselves something or go out. Anybody under 18 has to eat whats on the table though. When any of them buy the groceries, they can choose what they want to make.
2 people like this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
18 Sep
I've been thinking ahead to the holiday dinners coming up and what I can make without buying very much. I have a turkey in the freezer that I got for free after Thanksgiving. I originally thought we'd use it up before Thanksgiving and that I'd buy another one for the holiday, but now I think I'm going to save that one for November and not buy another one at all. I have lots of dried cranberries and recently learned how to make cranberry sauce from the dried berries. I also got several pounds of sweet potatoes last month that I cooked, mashed, and froze for future meals, so my daughter can make her sweet potato casserole from that.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
16 Sep
I hope it is! I have a zillion pounds of lentils and thought about making lentil stew instead, but I think split pea will go over better today.
1 person likes this
