Ham and Bean Soup

This probaby isn't the most traditional New Year's meal. We've already had creamed turkey twice, and it was time to pull the ham bone from the freezer. This was a spiral ham, and my hubby saved lots of lots of scraps as he served it.

I buy the Ham and Bean Soup mix that is small navy beans with a little packet of seasoning. First I wash and cook the beans in 10 cups of water for about an hour. Then I add diced carrot. I cracked two cloves of garlic, added vinegar and more water and let the soup simmer a couple more hours. It smells wonderful.

Yummy! My dad would have called this Ham Hocks and Beans, although I never did know what a ham hock was. Something they picked up at the butcher's in his day, I assume.
I use a good vinegar while cooking and we add more to each bowl as the soup is served.