Recipe Of The Day

Native to the Americas where it was first domesticated - Phaseolus vulgaris - also known as the haricot bean, pea bean, Boston bean or navy bean, this dry white bean has been a staple of sailors serving in the US Navy since the mid-1800s.

We're fans of homemade soup.  And a recent cold snap inspired me to make a batch of one of our standby favorites. 

Navy Bean Soup

Step One - Make your stock.  In a large stock pot slow cook a couple of Marchant's smoked pork hocks for about 5+ hours.

Step Two - At bedtime cover and put the pot in the garage overnight.  In the morning skim the congealed fat  from the surface. Remove the meat from the hocks and set aside.  Discard the fat, skin and bones.

Step Three - Dice a sweet onion and add to the stock.  Sift thru two 16 ounce bags of dried beans looking for any stones or bad beans,  Add to pot.  Cover and simmer on low until the beans are al dente.  Roughly 3-4 hours.

Step Four - Peel and dice some potato and add to the pot.  Cover and continue to simmer 20 - 30 minutes.

Step Five - Add back to the pot all of the reserved meat and a couple of grated carrots.  Salt to taste.

Last Step - Serve with oyster crackers, saltines or a crusty baguette.

 Good chow if you can get it.  And it's even better reheated the next day.