Senate Bean Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb dried navy beans (2 1/2 c.)
10 cups water, divided
1 small ham hock (or left over ham bone with meat attached)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon pepper
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, chopped
2 large celery ribs, finely chopped
1/4 cup parsley
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

Preparation

Soak beans overnight in 6 cups of the water (or bring to boil; boil 2 minutes and let stand, covered, 1 hour).
Add remaining 4 cups water, the ham hock, bay leaf and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover; simmer 1 1/4 hours or until beans are almost tender.
Stir in remaining ingredients, cover; cook 20 to 30 minutes more, until beans are tender.
Discard bay leaf. Cut meat from bone and shred, then return the meat to the pot.
*I often throw everything into the crockpot, after the first step, and let it simmer on high for 4 hours or on low 8 hours -- a good dinner to come home to! Just shred the meat and remove the bone and bay leaf before serving.