Senate Bean Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb dry navy beans
1 meaty ham bone
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped celery
2/3 cup mashed potato flakes or 1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1 bay leaf
salt, to taste

Preparation

Wash and sort beans; in large kettle, cover beans with 6-8 c hot water.
Bring to a boil; boil 2 minutes; remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 1 hour.
Add another 2 quarts of cold water and ham bone.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 hours.
Stir in remaining ingredients; simmer 20-30 minutes until beans are tender.
Remove ham bone, trim off meat and return meat to soup; remove bay leaf.
Serve hot; freezes well.