Shaker Bean Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb. dry Great Northern beans
water
1 meaty ham bone or 2 smoked ham hocks
1 large onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, diced
2 carrots, shredded
salt to taste
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes in puree
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. finely shredded spinach leaves
3 qt. water

Preparation

Sort and rinse beans; place in a Dutch oven, cover with water and bring to boil; boil 2 minutes.
Remove from heat; let stand for 1 hour.
Drain beans and discard liquid.
Return beans to pan; add meat and 3 quarts of water and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours or until meat easily falls from the bone.
Remove and trim meat from bones; discard bones, return meat to pan and add onion, celery, carrots, salt, pepper and thyme.
Cover and simmer for 1 hour or until beans are tender. Add tomatoes and brown sugar and cook an additional 10 minutes. Just before serving, add spinach.
Yield: 5 quarts.