Sunshine Soup (Yellow Split Pea & Sweet Potato)

I had a left-over baked sweet potato and wanted to use it, so I came up with this idea for a soup. My husband named it Sunshine Soup based on its yellow-orange color. The soup has a nice balance of sweet and spicy flavors. I'll do my best to capture what I did....

In a sauce pan heat up (don't let it boil over, it should be cooked on medium-high to medium low for around 35-40 minutes until almost all of the water is gone):

1 cup dry yellow split pea

2 cups water

In a frying pan saute (line pan with olive oil, but don't make it too greasy):

1/2 large sweet onion (chopped up - large pieces okay)

a few shakes of red pepper flakes

a few good size shakes of pepper

a few shakes of seasoning salt

a few grinds of sea salt

a few shakes of paprika

Once the onions start to brown and the olive oil is nearly dry:

add one heaping spoonful of vegan margarine

a few shakes of gravy thickener

Saute until mixture starts to get brown chunks and is no longer greasy. Remove from heat.

In a food processor add the following and blend until creamy:

cooked split peas (if there is a little water left in the pan, add that too)

sauteed onion mixture

1 medium sweet potato (cooked)

a few shakes of tamari

a couple of shakes of cayenne pepper

a few grinds of black pepper

3 tablespoons of yellow miso paste

2 to 3 cups soy milk

If mixture is on the thick side, add more soy milk and blend.

Pour mixture into soup pot. Add more soy milk if soup is still too thick. Add cayenne pepper and black pepper to taste. Add more miso or tamari for a saltier flavor. Cook until thoroughly heated.