Frozen to fantastic in 10 minutes!

Mini-M is enjoying soup at the moment. And dipping things in it. She's a fan of dipping pretty much anything, into anything else, if I'm being honest. Tonight, at dinner time, she dipped cucumber into vanilla soya custard and seemed to enjoy it. Maybe it is an undiscovered delicious taste sensation, but I have to confess I didn't try it!

So I decided to make soup, took a look in the fridge, and found that the only soup-y ingredients I had were an onion, and some sad looking herbs that I discounted at the outset. I'm quite glad there was nothing else, and I had to resort to the freezer, because the resulting Pea soup was lovely. And ready in 10 minutes. Fast, tasty, healthy and warm - all good things for a January recipe.

Why yes, we do use our Christmas mugs in January - and all year round for that matter. Take that, seasonal appropriateness!

Frozen Pea and Ham Soup (Serves 4)

• 1 onion
• 2 slices cooked ham
• 1 mug full frozen peas
• 1 pint of chicken stock
• 1/2 a mug of boiling water
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Finely chop the onion and fry it in the bottom of a medium saucepan in the oil for a few minutes until softened.
Chop the ham and add it to the pan, then add the peas, stock and water.
Simmer for about five minutes until the peas are cooked then take off the heat and allow to cool for a minute or two, before blitzing it until smooth.

Nothing makes an appealing food photograph backdrop quite like a grotty carpet...

Done - in just ten minutes from freezer to table - and thankfully Mini-M ate it happily - with a peanut butter sandwich to dunk!