Split pea soup

Ingredients:
7 cups water
1 lb bag of split peas
3 medium carrots-chopped
1 small onion-chopped
2 cloves garlic-minced
black pepper
Ham (either on bone or ham steak, chopped into bite size pieces)
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp chopped bay leaf
dash savory
Optional: Bouillon cube and/or goya sauzon packet

First empty split peas into bowl, make sure there are no pebbles, rocks, etc. Then rinse by adding water, swirling or stirring around to make any "junk" float to the top then pour off.
Peas after washing

Add water into large pot, add peas, turn heat to med-high. Add onions:

Add carrots:

Add garlic:

Add in dash black pepper, bay leaf, (salt either now or at the end-if you add at the end you will end up using less because it won't cook in and you'll taste it more)

If using ham on bone, add now. If using ham steak, can chop into bite sized pieces and add at any time. I chose not to use bouillon cubes as they are just full of salt and "junk" I can't pronounce. And I was giving this to Kian. Bring to a boil:

Then cover pot, turn down to a simmer and let cook until peas are tender, I think mine cooked for about 2 hours. I like mine really "mushy". Then I added salt and ham at the end. I gave it to Kian without the ham or salt. Picture of finished product coming soon!