Pea Soup with Black-Cat Croutons

Ingredients

• 5 slices bacon 
• 2  bay leaves 
• 8 servings pepper black freshly ground to taste
• 2 large carrots peeled chopped
• 1 large rib celery chopped
• 64 oz cartons chicken broth low-sodium
• 1 teaspoon thyme leaves dried crumbled
• 2  garlic cloves minced
• 1.5 cups peas split green rinsed
• 2 medium onions chopped
• 1.5 teaspoons salt 
• 0.5 cup cup heavy whipping cream sour
• 0.5 cup water 

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• ladle
• pot
• blender

Directions

1. Make soup: Saut bacon in large pot over medium-high heat until crisp and brown.
2. Remove and set aside.
3. Add onion, carrot and celery to pan; saut until vegetables begin to soften.
4. Add garlic; saut for 1 minute.
5. Add broth, water, peas, bay leaves and thyme; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover pot and simmer until vegetables are tender and peas fall apart, stirring occasionally, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
6. Puree 5 cups soup in batches in blender. Return to pot. Stir in salt and season with pepper to taste.
7. Make croutons.
8. To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Crumble reserved bacon on top.
9. Add a cat crouton and a dollop of sour cream to each bowl.