bean soup

[gobbla]

4 cups black beans prepaired (soaked)
4 cups navy beans prepaired
5 large carrots chopped up
1 large onion chopped up
1 can of crushed tomatoes 24oz
1 can of chicken broth
4 slices of high quality bacon (chopped up)
1 bay leaf
2 tsp of marjoram
salt and pepper to taste

combine onion, carrot, bacon in a large dutch oven and cook untill onion is transparent.

add everything else (plus enough water to cover everything) [img]smile.gif[/img] cook untill beans are tender and liquid is reduced to produce a thick soup. (about 4 hours) Remove bay leaf.

[gardener]

4 cups black beans prepaired (soaked)
4 cups navy beans prepaired

Have you found that starting from scratch with dried beans is really better?

Lately I've been using canned beans, the Puerto Rican Goya brand--pink, white, black, red, kidney, pinto--a large variety to choose from. Also I like Parmelat boxed tomatoes, unsalted...and use frozen vegetables to add robustness, plus thick vegetable stock base. A little chipotle adds zest--and the soup is great topped with grated romano cheese.

Canned beans cuts prep time to 30 minutes.