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 1 ham bone
1 pound dry split peas
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon each butter and olive oil
2 quarts water
2 bay leaves
1 pound baby carrots,
whole or roughly chopped
1 pound spaghetti, broken into 3" pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
1 can evaporated milk or 1 cup light cream or milk
Empty package of split peas into a colander or bowl, and sort through well, removing foreign matter and imperfect peas. Rinse well. Soak for two hours in 2 cups water. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain.
In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, sauté minced garlic in 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil until garlic is golden, but not brown in color. Add ham bone, water in which peas have been soaked plus 2 extra quarts of water and bay leaves. Bring to a boil for 1 minute then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Remove cover and simmer an additional hour or until soup is desired consistency. Add baby carrots during final 20-30 minutes of cooking. (If you prefer a pureed soup, process using a hand blender before adding carrots.)
Taste soup one half hour before serving; add additional garlic or garlic powder and salt and pepper, as desired. Stir in milk or cream 10 minutes before serving. If you have any leftover ham, add at this time. Stir in spaghetti. Remove bay leaves before serving.
Note: Kids like to use the leftover soup the following day for an after-school snack.
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