A wonderful split pea soup, and you do not miss the bacon or ham:) My son loved it. I never liked this soup, so I decided to make one with spices I like and also wanted to keep it healthy. I'm trying out new recipes for health, but they must also taste great! I forgot to buy celery so I used some celery salt. and I had to separate the soup at the end because my husband does not like hot spicy foods, ( the garlic and onion ok) . My son and I loved it with the cayenne and cracked red pepper! I would have liked to cook it longer with these spices.