Crockpot Anasazi Bean and Cabbage Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried Anasazi Beans, soaked overnight in crockpot
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced onion
• 2 cups very finely chopped cabbage
• 2 cups ham, cut into small dice
• Ham rind if available
• 8 cups water
• 2 T dried parsley
• 1-2 T garlic powder
• 2-3 tsp. onion powder
• 2-3 bay leaves
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• Ham flavored concentrate or ham bouillon, optional but good
• Balsamic vinegar for serving, optional

Directions

1. Cover the beans with cold water in the crockpot and let them sit overnight. In the morning, pour off the soaking liquid, drain the beans, and return them to the crockpot with 8 cups water, or use a mix of water and ham stock if you have some.
2. Chop the celery, carrots, onions, cabbage, and ham. Add everything to the crock pot, including the ham rind if you have one, then stir in the dried parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, and bay leaves. Turn the heat to high. Don’t worry if the pot seems a little shy on liquid at first; as everything cooks, the ingredients release more.
3. Let the soup go on high for 10 hours or longer, until roughly half the beans have melted into the broth and the cabbage has softened down into the soup. My large crock pot is an older slow-cooker style, so it may run cooler than newer ones. With a newer model, start it on high for 4-5 hours, then switch the heat to low.
4. After about 8 hours, take out the ham rind if you used it. Taste the soup, then add ham bouillon or ham flavor concentrate if it needs more ham flavor. This is optional and really depends on how flavorful your ham is. I often add extra garlic powder and onion powder here too.
5. Keep cooking until the beans begin to fall apart and the cabbage has nearly disappeared into the broth. Serve the soup hot, adding balsamic vinegar at the table if you like. This soup freezes well.
6. Stovetop Instructions: If you’d rather use the stove, combine all the ingredients in a heavy soup pot and keep it at a simmer for about 3 hours, until the beans are very tender and the cabbage has cooked down into the soup.
7. For the stovetop version, begin with several cups more water, since more liquid will cook away. After a few hours, taste and adjust with more ham bouillon, garlic powder, and onion powder as you like.