Cooking for my sick boy

Jax has yet another ear infection, his third in less than two months, and we were recommended a dairy-free diet for him as a potential fix for his constant congestion (and runny nose, eye crusties, puffy circles under his eyes, persistent night time coughing.) He may need ear tubes if the ear infections won't clear up, and I'm willing to try any reasonable options to help him feel better, since he's been just miserable since the beginning of January.

Last night I made ham and bean soup with vegan cornbread and collard greens. The vegan cornbread wasn't bad, and Mr.M, his mom, and Jax said they liked it fine, but the texture was a little off for me and it just didn't taste like Grandma's cornbread, the standard keeper of cornbreads. I think I'm going to have to play with that a bit before finding a recipe I really like. Either way, dairy or no, cornbread isn't Core. It is the perfect side for ham and bean soup with collard greens, though - definitely a meal my Southern Grandma would have made!

The ham and beans were delicious. It was also easy-peasy since everything was just tossed into the pressure cooker.

Ham and Bean Soup

1 cup dry beans, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed (I used Desert Pebble beans from Phipps Country Store, but you could use Great Northern, Cannelini, or even Pinto beans)
1 lb. cooked ham, diced
1 onion, diced
1 c. carrot, diced
1/2 c. celery, diced
4 c. vegetable stock
2 c. water
1 t. dry mustard
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
2 T brown sugar

Put everything into the pressure cooker. Cook under high pressure for 25 minutes or until the beans are tender. The ham made it salty enough for me, but you might want to add salt to taste.