Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Kitchen Woodbox Quilt Block and Bean Soup

Kitchen Woodbox Quilt Block

I had navy beans in my pantry and ham (including a good bone) in the freezer, left from Christmas dinner.  It was the perfect time to make Hearty Ham 'n Bean Soup!

Hearty Ham ‘n Bean Soup
2 cups (16 ounce package) dry navy beans
6 cups water
2 pound ham shank
2 tablespoons dried minced onion
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
6 peppercorns
1 cup ham, cut into bite-sized chunks (optional)
 
1.  Soak beans overnight in water. 
2.  In large (6 quart) soup pot, combine beans in water with remaining ingredients.  Simmer, covered, for 3 to 3-1/2 hours until beans are tender.
3.  Remove peppercorns and ham bone; cut ham from bone into chunks and return to soup.
4.  If a smoother soup is desired, beans can be mashed with a potato masher or soup can be processed at medium speed in a blender.
5.  Add extra ham, if you want a meatier soup.
 
*I recently bought an immersion blender and used that to get a smoother soup.  It was so much easier to use than putting hot soup in a blender!
 
 
"There are many delights in winter, and eating in front of the fire is one of them."  Gladys Taber
 
You might also enjoy reading my previous log post Pink Ribbon Quilt Block.

4 comments:

  1. I love bean soup (had some last night). If mom wanted to make her bean soup smoother she would take the potato masher out and mash up some of the beans. We never had things like blenders etc. I remember there would always be a debate on whether or not the left over ham bone would be used for soup or for Kumla. Kumla is a Norwegian potato dumpling that is cooked in ham broth. In the middle of the dumpling is usually a small piece of ham.

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  2. Thank you for quoting Gladys Taber. I love her books and the stories about Stillmeadow. Now, wouldn't that be a great theme for a book of quilt patterns?

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  3. A hot bowl of soup in front of a cozy fire sounds just wonderful right now with the bitterly cold weather we have had. I like the Gladys Taber quote too. Thank you for sharing and have a lovely weekend.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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  4. Nothing like a hot bowl of soup to warm the body and the spirit on a cold Winters Day. I love your block. Cute how you fussy cut the center! Thanks for sharing with SYC. Now following.
    hugs,
    Jann

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