SENATE BEAN SOUP

Wow a restless night for me last night.
Ugh. If you have heard of IBS it started up again with me last night. Have not had a episode since last April. Not fun. I will not go into the details. It is enough to say I was in pain last night for several hours in which I could not sleep. So I found myself in my chair reading for about three hours until things subsided I finally went to bed and to sleep after four AM.  So now today I am tired and sleepy. Actually I need to go get myself around into the shower and dressed as it is almost noon.
Hopefully this episode will not last beyond a couple of days.

It surprised by the pretty day here today. Hubby just came in from mowing the lawn and dealing with the last of the leaves. I will try for a walk later if I am feeling up to it as we are to have rain again beginning tomorrow.

Here's the report on the Senate Bean soup. It was very delish!
My husband really enjoyed it. Subtle changes over my regular recipe made for a creamy and flavorful soup. Tip here, if your ham is not salty and mine was not you do need to add salt, very important.
Here is the recipe.
SENATE BEAN SOUP.
First of all let me state I cut this recipe in two as there are just the two of us. We still have enough for another meal this evening. So that keep that in mind. Here is the full big recipe.
1 pound navy beans picked over
1 pound ham of your choice diced.( I used leftover spiral ham and diced it)
1 large russet potato peeled and chopped
Kosher salt to taste
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion chopped
1 stalk celery chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley( I did not have fresh parsley so I used some chopped celery leaves and a little dried parsley)
Freshly ground pepper

Put the beans in a large bowl with three times the amount of water and soak overnight.
Drain the beans and transfer to a large pot or dutch oven. Add 10 cups of water and the ham if on the bone.
Bring to simmer over med heat then reduce to low heat and cook until the beans are tender about an hour and a half.
Transfer ham to plate and cut off bone and dice and add back to pot.(My ham was already cooked so I did not add it early on I added it after the beans were tender)
Boil the potato when tender mash with the 1/2 cup of milk add the mashed potato to the pot stir in well.
Melt the butter in a skillet and add the onions, celery and garlic cook till the veggies are translucent about seven minutes or so(do not burn you want a white soup). Add the veggie mixture to the pot and season with salt and pepper(I also used a little Mrs. Dash original seasoning as we like the taste).
Let all simmer until well melded and serve.
Not I always say this but the best way to eat navy been soup in my opinion is to grab a deep soup bowl, plop a corn muffin the bottom and ladle the soup over the top.This thickens your soup right in your bowl and nothing better than a spoon loaded with soup and corn muffin. Seriously try it sometime.
So there you have Senate navy been soup. It may become our go-to bean soup recipe.

I must go now to the shower and get on with my day though I will not do much except walk. A day for Zo to sit in her chair and finish her book, yes another book comes to it's demise. Now I am out again. Tomorrow I will run back to my book place and grab a few more to keep contented. I am really thinking I should allow time for my piano and other endeavors but I so love to read, especially in winter.

Have a lovely Sunday. Sunday's were always my Mother's favorite day of week. Everyone home, no school, no work, perhaps company for our delicious Sunday supper as Mom used to call it. It was a day to be spent with family doing simple things around our home and farm.
Ahh the peace of it.