White Bean Soup with Ham

I am a sucker for white bean soups. I've had some that were super bland. I've had some that were very flavorful. This one has lots of flavor. I really liked it with cornbread. This is also part of the September 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. My teammate is Dreamgoddess from Alabama, USA.

White Bean Soup with Ham
1 lb smoked ham hocks
3 cups dried small white beans, rinsed and picked over
12 cups chicken OR beef OR vegetable stock OR water (I used beef stock)
2 medium onions, diced
salt and pepper to taste

Put smoked ham hock, beans and liquid together in a large saucepan. Turn heat to medium high. Add onions. Bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium low and cover so lid only partially covers pan. Cook, stir occasionally until beans are soft and meat is falling apart. About 1 hour. Turn off heat. Remove meat and chop it up if desired and return to pan.

You definitely want to serve this with some type of cornbread.

Soup and Scones

I had a ham bone in the freezer from Christmas that needed to be used. I went to recipezaar.com and found a recipe that tastes so similar to what my mom used to make while I was growing up. I loved her ham and bean soup. This recipe comes from JanuaryBride in St. Louis, Missouri. The scone recipe comes from my February teammate French Tart from France - in the Aussie/NZ recipe swap. I think I did the scones wrong - never made them before. I did them in the mixer when I should have done them by hand. The taste was still yummy though.

These two recipes are a perfect pair for a blustery winter day. (Which definitely wasn't here in Tillamook today. It was actually warm and 60 degrees!)

Crockpot Ham and Beans

1 lb great northern or small white beans

1 small onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 cup shredded carrot

8 garlic cloves, minced

1 bay leaf

7 cups water

4 tsp chicken bouillon

1 very meaty ham bone (If you don't have a meaty ham bone - add in 1 cup cubed ham)

Rinse and sort thru beans. Cover with water and let sit overnight or do the speed method in the morning you are wanting this for dinner. Hot water, bring beans to a boil and let sit on simmer for about an hour.

Drain water, rinse beans and place in crockpot. Add all the other ingredients except ham bone. Stir. Now add the ham bone.

Cover and cook on high 6-8 hours.

Remove bay leaf and ham bone. Remove 1-2 cups of beans and mash. Add mashed beans back into the soup. Take off any meat from the ham bone and add that back in. Add a bit of black pepper if desired. Enjoy!

Irish and Scottish Gaelic Soda Bread Scones

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups white flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. I am guessing these are made biscuit style (As in here in the US.) Mix all dry ingredients. Gradually add buttermilk - a little at a time until you have a soft but not sticky dough.

Knead on a floured surface just enough to shape dough into a round. Flatten to about 1 inch thick and cut out 8-10 scones using 3 inch cutter. Or just do straight cuts with a sharp knife.

Put on floured cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes. I found my scones were done closer to 15 - 17 minutes. They should rise like biscuits do and be golden in color.

Serve with soups or stews.