Navy Bean Soup

As many are sitting around their wood stoves right now, I hope they are allowing it to do double duty. Along with your tea water, it's a great slow-cooker with the addition of a trivet, or using a cast iron dutch oven with legs. This is just one, of many, variations of navy bean soup. Use your own favorite. I like to make a large batch, and freeze leftovers for another day.

Ingredients

1. 1 & 1/2 pounds dried navy beans (about 3 cups)
2. 3 quarts water
3. 1+ cup chopped onion
4. 2 garlic cloves, chopped
5. 2 smoked ham hocks (about 1 lb.)
6. 1 tsp. dried thyme
7. 1 dried cayenne pepper
   
8. 1 large bay leaf
9. 2 large diced carrots
10. Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
    

Directions

• Carefully pick through and wash beans then place in a container. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans and let stand 8 hours. Drain beans.
• 
  
• Combine the beans, 3 qts. water, and next 6 ingredients (water through bay leaf) in thick walled pot (ideally, porcelain coated, cast iron dutch oven), and place on wood stove. (If the pot/dutch oven doesn't have legs, place on trivet.
• Stir occasionally (especially until you are familiar with cooking on your wood stove), add more water as needed.
  
• After 3-4 hours, stir in the carrot and pepper. Cook about another 1&1/2-2 hours, until the beans are completely tender.
  
• Remove bay leaves, and discard. Remove the ham hocks, and shred meat, discarding fat and gristle. Return the meat to pan.
• Stir, taste, and adjust seasonings.
• Serve
  

Serving options

Serve with fresh chopped onions and/or fresh corn bread.

Yield

12-16 servings