This is a simple crock pot creation. Everything done in a crock pot is simple. The best thing is that you can be cooking while you are off to school or work and not worry about burning the house down.

Note: Meat is just not worth it. Sure it will make your soup turn out delicious, but there are other tricks to make a vegetable soup turn out nicely. Diversity is the key.

Base Ingredients
1 pound bag of Split Peas (yellow or green)
Carrots (shredded or chopped)
Onions
Brocolli (tips and stalks)
Mushrooms
Garlic

Extras
(Choose any of these or add anything you find at your produce market.)
Celery
Squash
Fennel root
Potato

Spices
Fennel seed (chop and add at the beginning)
any fresh herbs (chop and add at the end)

Method
The night before you want to have this soup, rinse the beans and let them soak. You can add the chopped vegetables either now or the next morning. Cover them with enough water - that's about an inch or so extra at the top. In the morning, take a peek, add more water if necessary, make sure all the vegetables are in there. Then turn the crock pot on and forget about it. Split peas don't take as long as most beans, so don't leave it for 12 hours.

After about four hours, the split peas will have turned to mush, as will the onions, brocolli and a few other vegetables. Now you can add the salt and pepper to taste and any kind of delicate herbs like cilantro or dill.

You'll want some hearty bread and some good Polish beer. And make sure your schedule is cleared for the four hour nap you'll be enjoying afterwards.