Senate Bean Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb. dried beans (navy, pea, Great Northern)
water
1 smoked ham bone
3 medium potatoes, cooked and mashed
1 c. chopped onion
1 c. diced celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt
pepper

Preparation

Wash beans and soak overnight in large kettle.
Next morning, add water to make 5 quarts.
Add bone and simmer 2 hours or until beans begin to fall apart.
Simmer 1 hour longer after adding potato, onion, celery and garlic.
Remove bone.
Cut up meat; return to soup.
Season to taste.
Makes 4 1/2 quarts of soup.