Senate Bean Soup

Had a great ham for dinner not too long ago.  We really enjoyed it.  Having a ham means having a ham bone. Not wanting anything to go to waste, I made soup. A delicious soup.

Senate Soup

1 ham bone*
enough water to cover ham bone
3 carrots, diced
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
2 cups dried and soaked Navy beans
pepper

Soak Navy beans overnight.  Rinse and drain beans.  Place about 3 quarts water (more or less, you want to cover the bone and have enough water for the beans to absorb liquid), Add bay leaf and ham bone.  Simmer about one hour until beans are tender (more or less time- you judge).  Remove beans from heat, let cool a little.  Remove bay leaf.  Drain beans, reserving liquid.  Puree 3/4 of the beans.  In a fresh pot sauté onions, garlic and carrots until tender.  Add the bean liquid and puréed beans.

*The ham had a sweet glaze on it so m,y soup was a tad on the sweet side.  I added about two tablespoons of vinegar.