Pea Soup From Discards

I have a new camera, and I'm using a computer that runs Linux. It will take a while to figure out easier ways of posting than last night's photo which took an hour. Anyway, I figure you can imagine pea soup.

After shelling all those peas for last night's dinner, I was left with a couple pounds of bright green, tender pods. I thought about stir-frying them (you can eat the pods of sugar snap peas) but decided instead to make soup.

You Will Need:
1/2 stick butter or margarine
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup dry vermouth
1 large onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, chopped
4 small red potatoes, diced small
1 tablespoon imitation bacon bits
Pods from shelled peas, coarsely chopped
Enough vegetable stock to cover
Salt and Pepper
Cream to finish

In a heavy pot, melt the butter and oil over low heat and cook the onions and potatoes until softened. Add the vermouth to deglaze the bottom of pot and add the peas. Toss and cook for a few minutes and then slowly add the stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cook uncovered until pods are quite soft.

Drain, reserving liquid.

Put the solids through a food mill. Add as much strained cooking liquid as needed to get a good consistency (it will thicken as it cools, so I tend to go with a bit more than I think I need if not serving right away). Re-warm and adjust salt and pepper. Swirl with a bit of cream before serving.