Rosh Chodesh Split Pea Soup

I have a bit of a cold, and am coming upon something like day five of laryngitis, so soup was the order of the day for dinner this evening. At least I am finally feeling well enough to cook, just in time for Rosh Chodesh. I didn't have any beef on hand (which my husband insists is key to a good Chodesh), but I instead built a nourishing soup that will hopefully fortify us for the month ahead.

I foraged around and found a nice bag of dried yellow peas, so I decided to use that as a base, and then just looked in my fridge for some veggies to use as flavorings. I didn't find any celery, which I would have enjoyed, but I ended up with a nice mix of shallots, garlic and carrots. I really wanted to use thyme as the primary herb, but I couldn't find it and didn't want to empty out all my cabinets (who has the THYME?? Jacqueline, is it you??), so I substituted dried marjoram. I added about half a cup of basmati rice toward the end to add thickness to the base, and it turned out very chunky, warm and delicious. Just right to get me back on my feet again!

1 bag yellow split peas
10 cups water
6 shallots, diced small
10 mini-carrots, diced small
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon celery salt
half cup basmati rice
sea salt and black pepper to taste
toasted pine nuts for garnish

Boil water in a large pot and add your peas. In another pan, saute the vegetables in the olive oil, until they are well-carmelized. Spice up your veggie mixture with the remaining ingredients (minus the rice), and taste. Correct seasoning if necessary. Add your veggies to your boiling peas and simmer at least 1 hour. Taste again and correct seasonings again as necessary. Add your basmati and simmer another half hour. Garnish with pine nuts enjoy with crusty bread!