Okay, now you all know I never have been and never will be a professional food photographer.

And yes, this looks less than appetizing.

As I used to tell my hungry children (all six of them, gathered ’round the dining table like The Waltons), this is a “Looks Bad Tastes Good” dinner.

My youngest three (adopted into our family at ages 6, 8 and 10) had “food issues”. One stole bread by piling it into her lap under the table.  Another, a victim of “institution” food, had to put ketchup on everything on her plate.  There was also massive cereal hoarding. After our very first family dinner, Banjo Man and I were so rattled we ended up drinking wine in the car (in the driveway).  We told ourselves it would get better.  And it did.

(I was a stickler for good manners.  Somewhat of a nag.  They survived.)

And the “Looks Bad Tastes Good” dinners were usually a big hit.  I’ll have to do a special blog post with those recipes one of these days.  Other popular nights were “Make Your Own Sandwich” (deli meat was such a luxury!) and “Breakfast For Supper”.

“Pretend Vegetables” were also a thrill.  When I was really, really busy with writing deadlines I’d sometimes plant a casserole on the table and ask my darling children what vegetable they wanted to pretend was being served (they really liked Pretend Carrots).

Please don’t judge me.  I was cooking for seven every night and Banjo Man was rarely home for dinner on weeknights.

Anyway, back to the crock pot…

Split Pea Sweet Potato and Kale Stew

Now that I’m looking at this picture again, the stew looks more like lentils than yellow split peas, but it’s hard to tell.  But you get the general idea, right?

So here is Fat Free Vegan‘s recipe for Split Peas with Sweet Potatoes and Kale.    I left out the kale and it tasted just fine without it.   If you like kale you can buy it frozen and dump some into the crock pot, too.

I’m now in love with sweet potatoes with my legumes.  (Thank you, Fat Free Vegan!  I love your recipes.)