Humble Oven Fries & Split Pea Soup

Urrrr...I can't believe it's snowing AGAIN! I was really looking forward to spring and warm weather, sigh. Anyway, I made the oven fries and the pea soup a couple of days ago. These are so easy to make and they also clean up the leftovers in your fridge well. 

When it comes to fries, I use any kind of potatoes I can get my hands on. I know some breeds are starchier than others and the retainment of starch affects the crispness of fries. Generally speaking, less-starchy potatoes yield crispier fires. (But it's kind of annoying to figure out which is starchier than others, isn't it?) I used to prefer red potatoes, especially those tiny ones, for oven fries because I just needed to chop each one  in half. How convenient! But red potatoes are usually pricier than others. Russet potatoes are pretty common and price-friendly.  

So this time I used russet potatoes to make fries. The trick is to keep the skin on for at least two good reasons: one is that it's more nutritious this way and the other is that it saves time and trouble. (and the outcome is yummier!) Just simply use a scrub sponge (I have one reserved for scrubbing vegetables only) to remove dirt or mud off the skin. And then julienne the potato into desired strips. On the other hand, mix olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, black pepper, salt, and Italian herb mix (or thyme, rosemary, fresh/dry parsley...well, you get the idea). Wanna get fancy? Sprinkle some paprika. Rub the oil mix onto the potato strips and send the whole thing into the oven on 380 degree for 30 plus minutes. If you want the result crispier, then just let the fries stay in longer. No-brainer, right? If by any chance you have truffle oil in your pantry, you may drizzle some on the fries and then it becomes the truffle-oil fries ($8) I had at a restaurant in Carlsberg, California:p  

The pea soup is another easy task. If you have milk/half-half/whip cream and chicken stock in your fridge, then you can make any sort of creamy soup. I first sauteed chopped leak (the white and light green parts), chopped onions, and two strips of bacon pork with butter and then added flour into the pen. After mixing well, I threw in few cauliflower florets along with almost 1/3 bag of frozen split peas (the fridge-cleaning act). Added chicken stock. After all of the ingredients soften and cooled-down, I pureed the soup with a smoothie maker (well, the main point is to puree, so use any reasonable tools you can get hands on). Afterwards I heated the soup again, poured in some cream, and seasoned it with salt and pepper (and parmesan cheese). You can also make corn, roasted red pepper & tomato, or other other kind of vegie soups in this manner. Good luck on experimenting your own!