split pea soup (vegetarian)

Here is my adaption of Green smoothie girl's split pea soup.   I used a brown basmati rice.  I haven't tried that before.  For the soup I'm sure it made no difference, but my regular brown rice was smelling old and I didn't want any excuses for people to complain the soup wasn't tasty.
I did like this soup.  It turned out very nice.

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups diced sweet onion
• 2 cloves garlic, diced or minced
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 cups dried split peas, rinsed well
• 1 cup brown rice, rinsed well
• 14 cups water 
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 potatoes, diced
• 2 teaspoons each parsley, basil, and thyme
• 1/2-3/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 Tablespoon sea salt.

Directions

1. In a large pot, saute onion and garlic in the oil until onions are translucent.  Add the peas and rice and stir to coat.  Add the waster, bay leaves and salt.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the carrots, celery, potatoes, parsley, basil, thyme and pepper.  Simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.