OK, so I got inspired. It was a cold, grey, rainy day here. I didn't
have straight split peas, but I had a bag of use-in-a-pinch
manischevitz split pea soup. I ditched the seasonings and used the
peas.

I boiled them down for a little while with some instant barley, added a
boullion cube, some thyme, some garlic powder, a minced onion, some
chopped carrots and celery, and a little fresh parsley. Boiled it all
down for a while til it was kinda thickened, then added a splash of
cider vinegar at the very end. Served it topped with homemade croutons,
made from leftover Italian bread tossed with olive oil, garlic powder,
salt, pepper, and paprika, then toasted in the oven for a few. On the
side I made something called "cheese grits souffle" from the
Williamsburg Cookbook, which is essentially a spoonbread, I believe. It
was yummy. A big salad rounded it all out.

What a nice dinner for a gross gray day! Thanks for the idea! Next time
maybe I'll try hot sauce and sour cream, but I love my fresh croutons.
They're all toasty on one side, but the side that goes in the soup gets
all soft and absorbs all the flavors......