Senate Bean Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb. dried navy beans
1/3 c. margarine
3 medium potatoes, cooked and mashed
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tsp. salt or to taste
1/2 tsp. pepper
chopped parsley

Preparation

Wash and drain beans.
Put in large kettle with 6 cups water. Bring to a boil and boil 2 minutes.
Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 1 hour.
Add 2 1/2 quarts water, bring to a boil, cover and simmer 2 hours or until beans are mushy.
Add margarine, potatoes, celery, onion, garlic and 3 teaspoons salt.
Cover and simmer about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Add more water if necessary to make a thick soup, then add pepper and more salt if necessary.
Sprinkle parsley over each serving of soup when ready to serve.
Yields 4 1/2 quarts.