Senate Bean Soup

You know when it is cold... wait it's summer here in the Western hemisphere.  Why am I talking about soup?  Well, here in Upstate NY, it has been a bit on the chilly side.  It's all relative.  After 90 some degree days and going to the 70's and high 60's, it feels downright chilly.  So I made soup.

I had a nice ham bone left and decided to make some Senate Bean Soup.

This is what happened the other day.  Freezing hail coming down in droves.  There were streams going down our driveway.  It was piling up like snow.

my poor plants

Senate Bean Soup

1 ham bone
2 bay leaves
2 cup Navy beans that have been soaked in water over night
1 cup onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, chopped*
s and p to taste
water

The night before you make this soup, place 2 cups of dry Navy beans in a crock pot and cover with water, generously with water.  Over night the beans will soften considerably and in the morning they will have abosrbed quite a bit of the water.

Drain.  Fill crock pot with water again, covering the beans by an inch.  You can stick a finger in and just lightly touch the tops of the beans.  If the water comes up to your first knuckle, then it is a perfect amou nt of water.

Add in all the other ingredients and cook on low for most of the day in a crock pot for 6 to 8 hours.

*If you dont like your carrots mushy then you can leave them out.  Before serving saute them in a pan until tender and add them to the soup.