Hello folks, I’m so incredibly blessed with all the positive feedback from my food column. It’s been awesome with phone calls and the private messages from all of you. What makes me really happy is when people ask me how to tweak one of my recipes, I’m happy to oblige (like a veggie stock instead of chicken or beef; Trader Joe’s has a fabulous veggie stock which I use often).

With all the cool and wet weather we’ve been having, I’ve decided to do another soup, pea soup. You either love pea soup or ya hate it, LOL ... It’s grown on me over the years and my “twinners” love it. My oldest daughter, Cody Carol, can take it or leave it.

I’ve cooked mine in a pressure cooker. It’s the best thing since sliced bread. I buy a boneless Daisy ham or you can use a ham hock (Daisy ham is lean, a lot less waste and you don’t have the mess), two small bags of split peas, carrots, onion, and pepper. I don’t add any salt to this soup. Most of the time you’ll find that ham is salty enough.

OK, chop up your carrots and onions, add everything in the one pot, add water up to the top, your peas are going to soak up lots of the liquid. I always cook with my pressure pot on medium heat (I have gas which runs hotter then electric). That’s all folks — the pot does the rest. Always make sure the little thingy on the top drops down then it’s ready. After you take it off the heat, it takes at least 15 minutes or longer to drop. It’s easy, good for you and delicious. If your time is precious, then a pressure cooker is for you.

I’m looking forward to the holidays. I have some wonderful things that are traditions in our house and I can’t wait to share them with you.

Remember to always be kind and if you see someone who needs help, give them a hand.

Live, laugh and love!