No, not just 15 beans. 15 kinds of beans.

The other day, I made 15-bean soup, a great, hearty dish, especially good on cold days.

One of my Facebook friends asked what recipe I used. I told her I made it up as I went along. Here’s the recipe as I remember it. (This recipe should also work well for pea soup; just use split peas instead of the bean mix.)

Ingredients:

• 1 bag dried beans. I used 15-bean mix, but you might want to try a different mix. The problem with the 15-bean mix is that it includes black beans which, when cooked, make the soup dark and uglier than it needs to be. But it still tastes good. If the beans came with any sort of soup “flavor packet,” throw it away.
• Ham hocks. I used a package of 3. Two of them didn’t have much meat on them, but the third had a lot of meat. You could, if you prefer, use about 1/4 pound lean, thick sliced bacon (cut into 1-inch pieces) or smoked sausage (cut into 1-inch pieces). Or you could leave this out entirely if you want a vegetarian soup.
• 1 cup carrots, cut into 1-inch slices. I used baby carrots, halved.
• 1 cup celery, cut into 1-inch slices.
• 1 large onion, chopped.
• 1 tsp dried thyme.
• 1 tsp dried tarragon.
• 1 tsp dried sage. (The sage I had at home had evidence of mold, so I didn’t use any.)
• 2 bay leaves.
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Instructions:

1. Rinse the beans, then put them in a pot with enough water to cover them by at least 2 inches. Soak for an hour, then drain. Then return to pot, cover with water again, and allow to soak overnight.
2. Drain the beans again, then return to the pot.
3. Add 6-7 cups water and ham hocks and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer about 3 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent beans from sticking to the bottom of the pot. During this time, it may be necessary to skim some ugly foam off the top. I use a slotted spoon.
5. Remove the ham hocks from the pot and set aside to cool.
6. Add the vegetables and herbs to the pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer.
7. Remove meat from ham hocks and return it to the pot. Discard fat, skin, and bones. (At this time, if there isn’t enough meat, you can add diced ham or something similar. I really like a meaty soup.)
8. Continue simmering until vegetables are done.

Serve hot with some crusty bread.

I like a thick soup, so I usually just add 6 cups of water in step 3. If the soup seems to be too thick by step 5, I add more boiling water. The other day, I added about a cup to bring it up to 7 cups.

In all honesty, I’m clueless about herbs. I guessed on these and it tasted good.

I don’t know if it matters if you cover it. I covered it after step 6.

This soup freezes well. The recipe yielded about 3 quarts of soup; I divided most of it into pint-sized plastic containers, cooled it in the fridge, and then put most of them in the freezer. When I’m ready to eat the frozen soup, I can simply transfer it into a microwave safe dish and zap it on medium until done, stirring a few times along the way. Or let it defrost on the countertop and heat it on high until hot.

If you make it, let me know what you think.

The core recipe from the excellent article.

A few weeks ago, fellow author and Twitter/Facebook friend Jeff Carlson linked to a recipe with the comment that it was well-written. Wondering how well a recipe could be written, I followed the link to “How to Cook a Pot Roast: A Guide for People Who Want to Live, Dammit” on Deadspin‘s Foodspin column. And I discovered two things:

• Jeff was right. It was the most entertaining recipe I ever read. Don’t believe me? Head over there and read it for yourself.
• The recipe sounded not only easy but delicious.

So after finding a chuck roast in my freezer — left over from when my soon-to-be ex-husband bought half a local steer and had it butchered a while back — I decided to give the recipe a spin. (Okay, pun intended.)

The trouble is, although the recipe article is extremely entertaining to read, it’s not so easy to follow when you get into the kitchen and just want to make the damn thing. So I’ve distilled it down to its basic ingredients and instructions. This is how I’m making it tomorrow for some friends who are joining me for dinner. Pardon me if I’m vague about quantities; a real cook should be able to figure this stuff out.

But please, before you read and follow this recipe, treat yourself to the original article.

Ingredients

• Beef roast such as rump roast or chuck roast
• Salt and pepper
• Canola or vegetable oil
• Carrots (but not baby carrots), cut to finger length
• Celery, cut to finger length
• Onion, halved, or shallots
• Canned skinless whole tomatoes, crushed
• Cheap red wine
• Fresh rosemary and thyme springs, tied together with twine (if possible)
• Bay leaves
• Cornstarch

Instructions

1. Unwrap the roast (and rinse if you like to do that kind of thing) but do not trim the fat.
2. Season generously — more than you normally might think is right — with salt and pepper. Press the seasonings into the meat.
3. Heat a heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven on high heat on your stove. If you have a ventilation fan, turn it on.
4. Add one “glug” of oil to the pot.
5. Thoroughly brown the meat on all sides. This should take 10-15 minutes. Meat should turn a deep, dark sizzling brown.
6. Remove meat to a plate or tray. Do not drain off any fat in the pot.
7. Reduce heat on stove and add carrots, celery, onion (or shallots), and tomatoes to pot. Cook for several minutes or until they start to brown.
8. Return the meat and any juices that may have drained off into the pot.
9. Turn the heat back up.
10. Add a full bottle of wine.
11. Add the herbs.
12. Heat the liquid to a low boil and reduce heat to simmer.
13. Cover and let cook 2-1/2 to 7 hours. (Really; the longer, the better.)
14. With tongs, remove the meat to a serving plate.
15. With a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables to a serving plate.
16. Bring liquid remaining in pot to a full boil.
17. In a separate dish or mug, mix some cornstarch with cold water to get a paste that’s smooth and just thin enough to pour.
18. Drizzle cornstarch mixture into pot while whisking; stop when gravy in pot is desired thickness.

Serve with mashed or roasted potatoes. Or noodles (which is what I prefer). Or, as the author of the recipe heartily recommends, some crusty bread.

I’m making this tomorrow. If I’m feeling very energetic and ambitious, I’ll take pictures and insert them as appropriate here.

Now all I need is a good recipe for crusty bread….

Ice cream + spiked cherries = delicious adult beverage.

It’s simple. Make this: Cherry Vodka.

Wait at least six months.

Assemble these ingredients:

• 1 part vanilla ice cream
• 1 part cherries with vodka from cherry vodka recipe

Combine in blender and blend until smooth. Mixture will be purplish pink, delicious, and quite alcoholic. Yum.