A little random food porn

Today I made some navy bean soup, also known as ham-and-bean soup. As the second name implies, the primary ingredients are, duy, ham and beans. So, we start with the beans.

Get a one-pound bag of navy beans (you can use great northerns, as well, but it isn't as authentic. Also, navy beans are slightly smaller.). Soak them overnight:

Go to bed. When you get up the next day, gather the ingredients. You will need about a pound of carrots, a few ribs of celery, a hambone (which I hope you stuck in the freezer after you ate a ham at New Year's), chunks of ham (which I hope you also stuck in the freezer after New Year's), and an onion or two, depending on size.

Your seasonings will be salt and pepper to taste, but that comes later.

First, drain the beans, put that water in a soup pot and add about two quarts of water. Put the hambone in there and bring to a boil.

After a couple hours, take that hambone out:

Add the beans and bring that to a boil:

After that cooks for an hour or so, add the chopped celery, onions and carrots:

Bring that to a boil, then turn it down to simmer for an hour or so.

Meanwhile, chop up that ham into chunks:

By the way, this is what dogs look like when you are chopping up ham. They want.

Now add the ham chunks to the soup.

Simmer for a while longer -- long enough to let the ham flavor permeate -- and then go ahead and serve it up, people.

Bon appetit.