My Grandma made the best navy bean soup ever!  Period.  End of debate.  She called it Navy Bean Soup but we always referred to her masterpiece with a resounding “Ham On The Bone”!  Yes, she left the ham on the bone and left it in the soup.  Why waste a minute of that flavor soaking into the broth and beans.  You just sort of dug around in there, hoping to knock a few chunks of ham off the bone with the ladle and into your bowl. 

Any way you make it, Navy Bean Soup is probably one of the most satisfying soups there is on the entire planet.  Depending on the garden, my Grandma would add carrots, onions, parsnips, parsley, potatoes, and whatever she could dig up or snip off.  Now, I’ve made this soup a few times in my life, but it never, ever, will turn out as good as my Grandma’s Navy Bean Soup.  That’s just the way nostalgia works. I would, however, like to hear if anyone else has a favorite memory or recipe using navy beans.  I don’t know if it would be worth trying them in a casserole, or a salad, but why don’t you tell me what you think.

I have cans of black beans in my cupboard at all times for two reasons.  One reason is because I like to add black beans to a lot of my cooking as they are a delicious and inexpensive source of protein.  The second reason is hurricane season.  Cans of black beans make a great hurricane preparedness staple in my house because we like them cold, so when we lose power and can’t cook, we can just drain and rinse a can of black beans and eat a bowlful with a little hot sauce on top.  Actually, I’ve got kids that will eat black beans with hot sauce hurricane or no hurricane!   And if you’re not in hurricane country, consider black beans a quick, nutritious summertime snack when you don’t want to heat up the kitchen with the stove and you certainly don’t want to come inside to fix lunch.  For convenience sake, the trick is to open, drain and rinse the beans, put them in a plastic food storage container and keep them in the refrigerator.  Kids will always choose the easiest snack first!  Well, grownups will too!

But, now that hurricane season is coming to a close soon (please!), and we’ve stocked our cupboard with more black beans than we’ll ever be able to eat cold,  I have to figure out the best way to use large amounts of black beans in delicious family-pleasing meals.  And now that power is restored, and the cooler months are upon us, a few nice soup or casserole dishes would be a welcome change.

I’m not skittish about trying to hide the flavor or texture of black beans because everyone in my house likes them.  I don’t want my family to get bored with black beans, so don’t be afraid to share your most adventurous recipes!