Ham, Bean, and Sauerkraut Soup

Happy New Year everyone!  We had a fabulous time on NYE, we even walked to the bluffs near our house at midnight and watched all the fire works exploding while ringing in the new year.  It was a beautiful but cold night in PDX which required cozy blankets and lots of champagne.  As I mentioned in the last post my 48 hour soup (ham, bean, and sauerkraut soup) was our planned meal for the evening and it turned out absolutely fabulous, I couldn't have asked for anything more tasty.  I wanted to add the reason why I'm calling it my 48 hour soup is because it took 12 hours to make the stock, 12 hours to chill the stock and skim the fat, another 12 hours to soak the beans and then an additional 10 hours to cook, so technically it is only a 46 hour soup...but 48 sounds better;)  I adapted the recipe from here.  Some of our friends ended up spending the night to stay safe on NYE and the next morning my boyfriend made his famous and ever so delicious Eggs Benedict (pictured below).  We ended the old year and started the new year with amazing meals and I wouldn't want it any other way.  In other news every January I detox and stop drinking for the entire month, this year I have also decided to try the Primal/Wholefood way of eating.  It's similar to Paleo but you are allowed to have dairy, beans (once in a while), and potatoes...which these items are things I truly love and had a hard time giving up on Paleo.  I am trying Primal eating for the month of January and see how it makes me feel, plus it's always a good idea to cut bread, wheat, and refined sugar from your diet.  I am ready for this detox month especially after all of the fatty foods and drinking that the holidays bring.  Enjoy!

Serves 8

The Ingredients

1/2 lb. dry great Northern beans

1 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped onion

1 tsp. caraway seeds

1 tsp. dried thyme

2 bay leaves

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups diced ham (leftovers from ham bone)

4 cups ham bone stock

4 cups water

2 cups sauerkraut, with more for serving

Salt and freshly ground black pepper


The Process

1.  Soak the beans overnight according to the package.

2.  In a crockpot add all of the ingredients but wait to add salt and pepper 'till the end.

3.  Cook for 9-10 hours on low or until the beans are soft enough to eat.

4.  Salt and pepper to taste and garnish each bowl with sauerkraut.

Our New Year's breakfast Eggs Benedict!