Good Intentions

My day started out rather nice. While Andy took Abigail to school today, I determined that today would be the day to make some homemade honey-wheat bread, and try a new soup. A quick peruse through my to-try list showed me that I had the fixings for Navy Bean Soup with Rosemary and Ham Hocks from Fresh Every Day. So I put my dough together, and got it proofing. Then I started prepping my ingredients for the navy bean soup. The first step was to soften my beans. Since I hadn't soaked them overnight, they required a 45 minute slow boil. So I got that going.

I was thrilled. Dinner was basically done by 11 am, and I had the rest of the day to do whatever. Nap time was coming up, so I fixed Zander his lunch and sat down at my computer to catch up on my foodie blogs. I was busy surfing when Zander demanded my attention. Story here:

These are what Zander was eating with his lunch today:

And this is a picture of Zander:
And the lesson learned today? Peanuts do not belong in a little boy's nose.

Yep. That's right. When I turned to look at Zander, he looked at me with tears in his eyes, pointed at his nose, and said "Peanut In Nose?" What!!?? It took me a minute to grasp what he said, and then we were sitting together so I could look in his nose, and wouldn't you know, there was a peanut in there. So first I called Mom- how on earth do I get this thing out. She was not very helpful, and mostly good for commiseration. Next I called Andy. I thought if I could get him to come home and hold Zander still, I could go after that peanut with a tweezer. Right. It was too far up there, and I was worried about doing some damage to that tiny nose.

I couldn't believe it, but I had to call the doctor. So off we went to the doctor. He must have spent 45 minutes with us trying to coax the thing out, or get Zander to blow it out. But it just wasn't happening. So off we go on a 30 minute drive to an Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist. He was wonderful, and that peanut came right out for him, and Zander was soooo happy. He was thrilled with the sucker the doctor gave him. So today, we lost most of the day hauling around a very upset little boy and his peanut. All told, that darned peanut will probably cost us $250 in doctor bills.

I was grateful that I had chosen today to make dinner ahead of time, but not grateful that I lost my lazy day.

Which brings me to dinner:

Navy Bean Soup with Rosemary and Smoky Ham Hocks is an excellent bean soup. It is slightly smoky, slightly salty, and slightly sweet. It is perfect. I am looking forward to heating it up for lunch tomorrow, as bean soup is always better the next day. I did make a few changes to the soup, but nothing that would really affect the integrity of the dish. I used homemade turkey stock instead of chicken, as that is what I had more of. I used a ham shank instead of a ham hock, and lastly I added some chopped carrot and parsnip when I added the beans. I would certainly do so again.

* Exported from MasterCook *
Navy Bean Soup with Rosemary and Smoky Ham Hocks
Recipe By : Sara Foster, Fresh Every Day

Serving Size : 8

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 medium yellow onions -- diced

4 celery stalks -- diced

4 cloves garlic -- minced

1 1/2 cups dried navy beans -- soaked overnight

8 cups chicken broth

1 smoked ham hocks

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon sea salt -- plus more to taste

1 teaspoon black pepper -- plus more to taste

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary -- chopped

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onions and reduce heat to low. Cook and stir until soft and brown, about 15 minutes. Add the celery and cook adn stir for 8 to 10 minutes longer, or until soft. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, about 1 minute more, being careful not to let it brown.
Add the drained beans, chicken broth, ham hocks, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and dried rosemary. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer, uncovered until beans are tender, about 1 hour 30 minutes.
Remove th ebay leaves and discard. Remove the ham hock and place it on a plate to cool. When cool enough to handle, pull the meat off the bone and add to the soup. Stir in the fresh rosemary and salt and pepper to taste. The soup is even better the day after it is made. It will keep up to 4 days in the fridge, or also freezes well.
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 306 Calories; 12g Fat (36.3% calories from fat); 20g Protein; 28g Carbohydrate; 11g Dietary Fiber; 30mg Cholesterol; 1040mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat.
NOTES :
I added 2 carrots and 2 parsnips diced up when I added the beans- very good, and will do so again. I liked the added sweetness from them.