Cooking With Bubba

Southern Bean & Black Bean Soup

Southern Bean Soup   1 cup dried beans cold water 6 cups ham broth 1 cup chopped celery 1/2 onion, minced 3 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons flour salt and pepper to taste   Cover the beans with cold water and let stand overnight, or at least 6 hours. Drain off water and add beans to ham broth. Add the celery and onion and let cook slowly until beans become quite soft. Strain the bean broth; press the beans through a sieve and add the pulp to the strained broth. If necessary, add more water in order to have five cups of broth. Melt the butter, stir in the flour, salt and pepper; slowly stir in the hot bean broth and simmer until thickened.   Serve hot with slices of lemon and hard cooked eggs.

Black Bean Soup   2 cups black beans 12 cups water 1/4 pound pork 1/2 pound lean beef, cut in small pieces 1 carrot, diced 3 small onions, minced 3 cloves 1/4 teaspoon mace dash of red pepper 3 hard boiled eggs, sliced 1 lemon, sliced 1 wineglass of sherry   Wash and clean beans and soak over night. In the morning, sort carefully and add to the water with the salt pork, the lean beef, the carrot, onion and seasonings. Cover and cook slowly for 3 hours, or until beans have become very soft. Rub through a sieve, place in a tureen; add the sliced eggs, the lemon and the glass of sherry.     The southern cookbook