Meatballs!

1 pound ground beef
½ pound ground italian pork sausage
2 egg yolks
½ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
4 cloves of minced garlic (or chop 1/2 and mince 1/2)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons of dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste
3-4 slices Italian bread, crust removed
1 cup milk
olive oil

Break bread into chunks and put in a bowl and cover with milk. Let sit for 5 minutes as you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Put into a large bowl the following: beef, sausage, eggs, cheese, garlic and spices. Squeeze some of the milk out of the bread but leave fairly soaked. Add this to the bowl and mix everything together with your hands (the fun part). Shape into medium sized balls and set on a plate.

Cover the bottom of the skillet with oil and heat on medium. I used a 10" cast iron fry pan and it worked great! Once Put the meatballs in and brown on all sides. You can also bake them in an oven at 350 for 20 minutes or so or simmer them in marinara sauce for 40 minutes.

If you fry them, place on paper towels and pat to remove excess oil.

When Dave and I visit his parents in Buffalo, we usually have spaghetti and meatballs. Real, authentic Italian spaghetti and meatballs. I've never had anything like it but these come pretty close. At least, they'll do until my next trip east. I served these over spaghetti squash tonight with a really good pasta sauce I got at the store: Nana's. It's locally made by a family here in Shoreline.

Split Pea Soup

3 cups green split peas
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 large chopped onion
2 large chopped carrots
1 leek - rinsed well and chopped
1 small lemon
1 bay leaf
4 cloves garlic - minced
1 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups water
2 cups Vegetable Stock

Rinse peas and sort out irregulars and stones. Cover with water to 2 inches above peas and set aside. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large pot. Saute garlic to release aroma. Add onion, carrot, leek, paprika and bay leaf; saute 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add water, stock, juice from lemon, salt and pepper to pan. Drain peas and add peas and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer at least 1 hour, stirring often. Discard bay leaf. Place half of soup in blender or food processor; process until smooth. Return to pot and stir.

Ladle into bowls and enjoy with crispy bread or cheese and crackers!

I lied earlier when I said the Tom Yum soup was the first I perfected. I forgot that this is actually the first soup I ever made and I made it before ever having tried split pea soup before. That's how I roll. When I made this last night, I added Alder-Smoked salt that I got at the market (the Greenwood Market). It is very strong smelling and adds a great smokey flavor to this soup in place of using ham hocks. This soup freezes really well so I make a lot and enjoy it for months (if it lasts that long).