Picky Eater Proof Pea & Ham Soup (and vegies…shhhhh!)

48 out of 49 kids give thumbs up!
(49/49 if you count the bribe)

I am not sure if this is my most requested or my most pushed recipe. (Pushed meaning I cook it assuming that it would have been requested had I given the eaters the opportunity to choose :)

We first realized that we were on to something when A&H came over for dinner one cold Finnish night. We had my Pea & Ham Soup the night before and had lots left over. A&H have two boys, rather than "wasting" the expensive baked salmon that I had prepared for the grown-ups, we served the boys and our Princess-I the leftover soup. The kids scoffed it down with delight. The youngest didn't finish everything so H decided she'd finish off her son's the last few spoonfuls. "A" tried it too; they both had seconds and said it was the best they’d had…. Then we had the salmon.

When I arrived back in Iowa I had D&S over for dinner with their three great boys. Their youngest "J" (all three are Js actually) is a very, very picky eater. He ate all of his soup.

On Sept 28 '08 my princess brought her best friend "E" home for dinner. E, is full of laughter and joy, a real pleasure to have around. But, she is bar none the pickiest eater I have ever encountered. I knew this would be the biggest test so out came the soup. Princess-I ate all of hers with nice manners and really enjoyed it. E obviously didn't want to hurt my feelings, by saying that the dish horrified her (low risk as she only speaks Finnish and I don't); she sat politely at the table with a teaspoon full of P&H soup in her hand for twenty minutes! I kid you not , in that time she must have smelled that cold wet blob on her spoon every sixty seconds. My heart was broken, my 100% run rate was at risk so I placed a shiny €1.00 coin on the table before her. Princess-I translated for me: "If you finish his soup you can keep it”. It took another 10 minutes, but she did it!

Enough of my yarns, here’s the recipe:

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 8-12 hours

YOU NEED A CROCK POT FOR THIS! And unfortunately my Finnish freinds, they don't seem to be available here. I had mine sent by a friend in the UK.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cubed fully cooked ham (or food processor it even smaller)
• 1-1/2 to 2 cups of dry split peas
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery with leaves
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• 2 Tbsp. snipped fresh parsley
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 400 grams of frozen cauliflower (Trojan horse veggies for kids)
• 400 grams of frozen broccoli
• 2-4 teaspoons of curry (or more)

Myk's tip: Celery doesn't come in "small". Avoid waste, cut it up into cup size lots, wrap each lot separately in glad wrap and freeze. Use them later on for other soups (not good for anything else after freezing.

I think the curry is the most important ingredient. One day I just threw it in to see what would happen; we haven't gone without it since. I haven’t seen another P&H soup recipe with curry, but it is unanimously agreed by friends and kids to be what makes it really good.

Preparation:

In a 4-6 litre/quart crock pot, combine all ingredients. Peas and ham in first.
Cover and cook on low for 8-12 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
Just before serving use a potato masher to mash some of the peas in the soup for a thicker consistency. I like to use one of those electric choppers with the little blades on the end to really mash everything up. But my bride likes the ham to be a little chunkier.

Freezing:

This soup freezes very well, I like to double the ingredients and have enough left-overs for a few meals (crock pot capacity permitting). Be sure to let it cool for a couple of hours as it retains its heat for a long time and will thaw out the stuff around it in the freezer.

Serves 6-8