Split Pea Soup

It's cold and rainy today.  I have the flu and crave soup, but my sense of taste is dulled.  I decided to make split pea soup.  I have a lot of dried peas to get rid of.
I opted to go with a fairly simple recipe that I found in Epicurious.  Based on the reviews, it was pretty well-liked and was also pretty adaptable.  In agreement with the no-shopping experiment, I adjusted it according to what I had.  I omitted the ham hock and used about 8 oz of bacon instead.  I fried that up, then set it aside.  I drained off most of the fat and then sauteed the onion and celery in the remaining fat.  (I didn't have carrots so I skipped them and added two diced up potatoes instead.)  I added two cloves of minced garlic and sauteed it briefly, and then added the water, marjoram, two peeled and chopped up potatoes, the bacon and dried peas.  The mixture was then brought to a boil and allowed to simmer until the peas and potatoes fell apart (2 hours).  At that point it was pretty thick.   I added salt and pepper to taste, along with a bit of smoked paprika and a drop of liquid smoke to deepen the flavor.  I hope it doesn't taste horrible once  I get my sense of smell back.  I let it cool somewhat and then pureed the whole thing.
Anyway, it tastes pretty good, and will probably improve with age.  It's got that classic split pea soup flavor and the right consistency.  I'm looking forward to eating it with little bit of cheese on top and a slice of toast.