Split Pea Soup (great to freeze)

It used to be that the though of split pea soup was enough to turn my stomach.  Who had ever decided to take a rather bland, gross vegetable, over cook it, squash it and call it soup?  Fortunately, after many years to develop better taste buds and one Christmas with too much leftover ham, I discovered that this is actually really quite yummy!  On a side note, my kids have already progressed beyond the yuck stage to yum.

8 c water
1-2 lbs cooked and cubed ham
1 tsp salt
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
1 lb dried split peas
1 med. onion, chopped
2-3 carrots, chopped
1/4 tsp black pepper

1. Heat water and peas to boiling.  Boil for 2 min, then remove from heat and cover.  Let sit 1 hour.
2.  Add ham, onions, salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer until peas are tender (about 1 hour)
3. Add carrots and celery into soup.  Cover and simmer until veggies are tender - about 45 minutes.

This is a favorite with crusty artisan bread (freshly baked of course!)