Split Pea and Whole Grain Soup with Vegetables

I really need this today! I've been exposed to a lot of sickness recently and woke today with a sore throat and feeling that something really nasty is trying to take hold. . .This all went together fast and made about 5 quarts of excellent healing soup! This isn't my usual 'go-to' sick soup, but I had the ham and have been wanting to make pea soup for a while now. Healing Soup can come in many 'flavors.'

In a 6 quart pot, sauté the following:

3 sliced carrots

3 sliced celery ribs

2 small yellow onions

2T single source EVOO

1/4t or so - cayenne pepper

1/2t-1t fresh ground black pepper

1/4c chopped poblano pepper

When this is lightly browning, after about 30 minutes, add:

1/2c Lundberg Wild Blend Rice, cover and let it 'snap' a few minutes. Stir and add a little water, to keep it from sticking. After about 8 minutes, stir in:

1 quart of good quality vegetable broth

14oz. canned diced tomatoes and juice

32oz. fresh, cold, filtered water

3-4T Better Than Bouillon-vegetable-low sodium

3 lg. garlic cloves-minced

chopped celery greens

4 bay leaves

*1 sm. head of green cabbage

Simmer, at a low bubble, another hour, or until the peas and rice are tender. Ladle out hot steamy bowls of this, to chase away the chill and viral bugs. I made a big pot of Lemon-Ginger-Ecinacea tea with fresh lemon zest, juice, and wild honey to go with this.

Stay Healthy Everyone! . 😊  . .Lin

*with 20 minutes of cooking time left, I decided to add this, cut in small cubes