Money vs. Time

I guess for me it all comes down to quality of life. Right now, despite the extra money I've been making working extra hours, my lack of time at home is affecting the quality of all of our lives. There are tell tale signs everywhere. (The mountain of laundry is just the first clue.) Getting dinner on the table each night has been a real challenge as well. The slow cooker has been a life saver during this time and tonight I'll be relying on it again.

Since our CSA pickup is tonight, I'll be using the last of the veggies left over from last weeks pickup. That means the primary vegetable will be winter squash, although I do have a bit of daikon as well.

I'll start by tossing a bit of scallions and collard stems (already chopped and frozen from earlier in the season) into the slow cooker. Next, I'll add some of the winter squash that I cooked over the weekend. I might puree it if it seems too stringy (or I could wait and puree the whole thing after its cooked). Finally, I'll be adding dried split peas, water, some thyme and some vegetable broth powder. I'll set the whole thing cooking on high for now, because crunchy split peas are a bummer. When my daughters get home from school, I'll have them turn it down to low. (Another option is to boil the water before adding it to the slow cooker and cook the whole day on low.)

UPDATE:
I accidentally forgot to call my daughter to put the slow cooker on low. As a result, there was no need to puree anything because both the split peas and the squash had gotten so soft. Simply stirring before serving was enough. I have to say the flavor of the squash really lent itself to the split pea soup. It was a big hit.