A Good Day for Soup

Today the temperature is around 32 degrees and freezing. It's a good day for soup. I had a leftover spiral ham from the holidays and I didn't know what to do with it. Split pea soup with ham is everyone's favorite, but not mine, so I decided to try and make ham & potato soup. Thanks goodness for the Internet. I found a basic recipe and followed it loosely.

I browned some chopped onion with a bit of oil in a large pot.

Next I added chopped celery, chopped & peeled potatoes, and small bits of the ham. I added about 3 cups of water and brought it to a boil.
In another smaller pot I combined 5 tablespoons of butter, and five tablespoons of flour with a drop of milk. I whisked it and slowly added more milk, about 1 1/2 cups of milk in total. When you add this mixture to the soup it begins to look creamy. Just cook it a little longer, and add salt and pepper to taste.


A little about the pottery bowl. This small crock was made in England, and I believe it is made from the same sort of brown clay that "Brown Betty" teapots are made of. This clay keeps everything really warm for a long time, and makes a great teapot as well as a great soup bowl. The pottery makers mark is shown below. I hope that you will stay warm with this soup.