16- Bean Soup

It's almost getting to fall and that always makes me think of SOUP! Nice thick, hearty soup with whole grain crusty bread you can use to dip...

With that in mind, I came home from work on Friday and decided to pull that ham bone from the freezer and throw something in the crockpot. ...hmm...no ham bone? I headed to the store for something to use for flavor and stumbled upon Smoked Neck bones (pork). We'll try it. Too bad I didn't pull all the veggies from the frig before heading for the store or I would've seen I had no celery-- who makes soup without celery? Oh well, we'll manage. Some of my best meals are made with ...whatever I find in the frig.

hmmmm.... which spices? I pulled a bunch out that I thought I'd add.

I love the grinders, but truth be known, I would not add the salt this time (I used 3 beef boullion cubes- I'd use two next time, just a little salty for me...)

I soaked the beans in a bowl of cold water longer than overnight, but overnight should do. I put the bones in a pan to simmer for 30 mins or so...

Now the prep work... sautee-ing onions sans celery...

three nice carrots to cut up...

I threw a pinch of dried rosemary leaves in the boullion-- not sure why, just liked the smell of it all together.

Well, here it is in the pot...! I used the broth that was left after simmering the bones (not much grease on the top, or I would have to 'skim' the top with a slice of bread) and added the boullion and enough water to make 6 cups (could have used 1-2 more cups of water).

This is the soup after I added the water, looks good, but meat stayed pink...For the full recipe, see below.

This was what it looked like when I 'de-boned the neck bones... REAlly lean meat.

Nice and thick, too...

Premium multi-grain sandwich bread from Stop & Shop. So hearty!...

And I love it with butter, and dunked in the soup. It was DELICIOUS!!!!!!

Smoky 16-Bean Soup Recipe

Smoky 16-Bean soup

Ingredients:

1 lb. 16-bean soup, soak overnight in water

2 lbs smoked pork neck bones (simmered in 2” water for 30 mins, don’t drain)

2 beef boullion cubes

a pinch of dried rosemary leaves

1 tbsp butter

1 med onion, chopped

3 med carrots, shredded

½ chopped apple

a stalk of celery, chopped*

1 small bunch fresh parsley, chopped

I grind these right over the pot… see when to add below:

1 full grind of sea salt

4 full grinds of any country herb mixture

5 grinds of garlic pepper

1 tsp of Sylvia’s secret seasoning

1 ½  bay leaf

Additional water to make 6 cups, total

*I didn’t have celery for this recipe, but I would have added it if I did.

--------------------------

Rinsed beans with cold water, drain. Place in crock pot. Removed neck bones from pan and let cool slightly. Save simmered broth (wipe a piece of bread over the top lightly, to clear any excess grease). Add boullion cubes & dried rosemary leaves to broth and add small amount of boiling water to dissolve cubes. In small sauté pan, add butter & sauté onion, until soft.

Add carrots, apple, onions, celery & parsley to beans.

Add seasonings …

I grind my seasonings right over the crock pot:

1 full grind of sea salt

4 full grinds of any country herb mixture

5 grinds of garlic pepper

1 tsp of Sylvia’s secret seasoning

Add simmered neck bone/boullion broth (what’s left) and enough water to make 6 cups. Pour over top of beans/veggies.

Place cooked neck bones on beans/veggies (I had three sections of bones).

1 ½  bay leaf on top

Cook in crock pot 8 hrs on low….

Pig-Out at Century

Our company has usually had a celebration of some kind at the end of the year... It's usually called 'pig-out' and consists of anyone who wants to, bring something to share and 'pigging out'. It's always fallen on Christmas eve (or the last day of the 'busy season') before Christmas and we could never imbibe until the last order was sent to shipping and logged out.

Well, the last few years, no one has

wanted to do it, because w're just too busy ...finishing getting errands done (or some were hosting their own Christmas Eve parties at home, so they were anxious to get out of work as soon as they could!)

Well, this year, someone came up with the idea to have 'Pig-out' right before the busy season starts! This is usually just before labor day, so the sign-up sheet was posted in the lunchroom, ... and what a feast we had.

This was my plate...we had some great food, seafood mousse, chili, home-made Mac & cheese, pasta & fruit salads, pulled chicken sandwiches.... The deadly thing is, we have some GREAT cooks at our company!

Donna was good about letting me snap a shot of her plate, but she wasn't waiting to start eating!

And of course, we can't forget the dessert table...

Brownies that were soooo delicious, home-made cookies (and some from Sam's), Magic bars, decadent chocolate cake...

And then, there was the Sand Cake. It's like the dirt cake with gummy worms, but with crushed Pecan Sandies (or you can use sugar cookies) for the sand. Serve it in a pail with a shovel for serving utensil AND on a towel with shells, and it is fun for a summer party!

Can you see how little was leftover? What a great idea! Can't wait until next year.

Farmer's Market in Summer

Don'tcha just love the fresh vegetables in the summer, especially at a farmer's market?

We have one in town every Sat morning until noon and I love going to the different tables to see what is being picked lately.  Those little plums in the bowl were the sweetest plums I've EVER tasted in my life!!! Some even have baked good, too (yes, I had to test it out, as you can see-- was great!)

 or just flowers, which is nice because my grandson, Malakai, loves to pick some out for me.

The only problem is, that the zinnia's and some gerber daisy's have bends in the stems .... We've even been known to 'duct tape' them to a toothpick. (Kai was upset that 'it broke'.)

Nothing better than rinsing them off in the sink as soon as they are home,...then enjoy.