Pumpkin seeds croutons floating on 
homemade Split Pea Soup 
Pickled in Beets pink colored sweet rice vinegar
It’s a personal preference to thicken this soup with cream or milk – dairy – but no need to. It is already plenty creamy and thick … could have a garnish of sour cream dollop but again, don’t need to. There’s a secret what Japanese call “kakushi-aji” (hidden flavor); want to guess what that may be? Try a bowl of this olive GREEN soup ladled out served nice and hot in a green olive soup bowls.
As with any food preparation, one can make this totally vegetarian, even vegan OR you can make it traditional with use of ham hock for soup stock. Some may even add bacon, butter and cream for that RICH taste; BUT for vegetarians, and vegans with aversion to dairy, use Konbu or Mushroom soup base instead and with the addition of this secret “kakushi” hidden ingredient, you won’t miss the cream nor the fat … It’s plenty thick and creamy enough and yet so… earthy. Lovely nourishment for the chilly nights – stay healthy everyone !
