Tekoa Split Pea Soup

Cooking Time
55 minutes

Serving Size
10 cups

Kettle Size
4 quarts

Ingredients

Split peas, dehydrated celery and carrots, herbs and spices, salt and pepper.

Great Ideas for Dressing up your Tekoa Split Pea

Add

A pinch of thyme right before serving

Serve

With hot bread sticks

Suggestions

Cook in a crockpot so it will be ready to eat when you get home from work

Vegetarian

You can prepare this soup without meat. Use 15 oz. of vegetable broth and reduce water in the recipe by two cups. If desired, add a meat substitute.

Tidbits of History – Tekoa (Tee’ Koh)

In 1875, a lone settler opened a trading post at Tekoa, to serve a nearby reservation in Coeur d’alene, Idaho. Daniel Truax, a sawmill operator who learned that the railroad was coming- and therefore platted a town, joined him. Looking over the construction camp, Mrs. Truax suggested the name Tekoa, a biblical term meaning City of Tents. In 1888, the railroad became reality and built a round house, machine shop, coal bunker, and district administration headquarters. This created jobs for one out of every four households.

Tekoa was on the main line to Spokane, therefore, it thrived as a grain and apple-shipping center. In 1908 The Milwaukee Railroad laid its transcontinental rails through the town; this further contributed to Tekoa’s prosperity. One of the region's first cold storage and seed pea operations developed creating employment for about 50 women, who sorted and packaged locally grown peas and peas shipped in from California.

By 1920, the railroads dominance began to decline. In 1950, the Milwaukee had dropped its Tekoa operations and the Union Pacific moved its crew to Spokane. The railroad still moves grains and agricultural chemicals through Tekoa, but now the old Union Pacific depot is a farm store and the large steel train trestle mainly symbolizes the community's former dependence on the railroad.

Legume Hints and Nutrition

The USDA recommends that adults eat three cups of beans or legumes per week for the maximum health benefit. Legumes are naturally low in total fat, contain no saturated fat or cholesterol, and are an excellent source of protein, calcium, iron, folic acid, and potassium.