Summer is approaching and my calendar is already booking up! This past weekend one my best friends tied the knot in the lovely Bay Area. The ceremony was just as beautiful as the scenery driving up.  My boyfriend and I opted against the convenient short airplane ride since the view while driving Highway 1 is breathtaking. We made a stop 1/2 way up the coast to camp in Big Sur before the wedding festivities began. Typically, I am the one who wears the chefs pants in the relationship but since camping is in his realm, my boyfriend decided to surprise me with the perfect campsite dinner.

Homemade Split Pea and Honey Ham Soup!

My main squeeze started cooking the soup via crock pot the night before. He followed this recipe as a guideline but made a few alterations.  When asking what he did differently, he mentioned that chopped ham just didn’t cut it. Instead, he purchased a honey baked ham from, who would have thought, the Honeybaked Ham store and even threw the bone into the crockpot to add the extra flavor (so proud!). The recipe calls for 2 garlic cloves but he added in extra.  Also, this recipe does not call for enough liquid so he ended up adding chicken stock a few hours after starting the crockpot.

Once  done, he packed up the soup in a cooler and all we had to do was heat it up!

The soup turned out fantastic and I was beyond impressed with his cooking skills. He even made sure to bring my favorite bottle of wine (Lions Peak, Peak Rouge) to accompany the dinner. Dessert included hot cocoa heated up by a backcountry boiler.  I must admit, I am pretty spoiled. Usually, I’m not one to rough it but if camping includes being cooked a gourmet dinner, then I might be open to more trips in the future.

I leave you now with some pictures from the beautiful wedding! Enjoy.