:: Ham Bone Soup ::

There's nothing like a hearty home cooked soup to warm your bones a cold winter day.  The days, and nights, around here have certainly been bitter cold and my family needed warming.  The solution? Ham bone soup!  A delicious way to get an extra meal out of your holiday ham.   *Enjoy*

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1 ham bone + gelatin and juices leftover from cooking
2 bay leaves
2 C. kidney beans
8 C. water
   
* Place ham bone in large pot and fill with enough water to cover.  Bring to boil then simmer for about 3 hrs.  Cool and refrigerate overnight.  Place kidney beans in separate container with 8 cups water and soak overnight.

2 yellow onions
4 celery stalks (more would be ok too!)
several carrots (I used 9 of various sizes)
1 head cabbage chopped

* Remove stock from refrigerator and skim fat off top.  Strain to remove bones and bits then pick out the meat and return to stock. (We had some extra meat leftover so I added this as well, to my husbands delight! No questions of "where's the meat?" with this meal.)  Drain and rinse beans, add to soup and bring to boil then down to a simmer.  Start chopping onions celery and carrots.  Add to soup as they are ready.  ( I recommend waiting a bit on the carrots so they don't turn to mush) Cook until beans are tender, about 2hrs.  Add cabbage at the very end and cook till desired tenderness.  ( I added it after turning the heat off and let it cook in the hot soup while I prepared the rest of dinner, this left it with just a little crunch which was quite nice.)  Salt and pepper to taste.


** Next time I would add potatoes as well.  Any suggestions for additional herbs or spices?