Dear reader, as we face ever-increasing inflation, incredibly high gas prices, and escalating grocery prices, what’s a retired guy like me to do? I have been moving more and more towards using meat as a condiment to a meal instead of the main attraction. My wife and are are lucky that we like legumes. They are cheap and provide protein, fibers, and a lot of important minerals. Once again I’m making a small batch of soup, this time Navy Bean. Navy Bean Soup, like most soups, has 1000 different recipes. I looked up a couple to get cooking times correct, but (as usual) I’m winging it. Let’s go!

I bought this pressure cooker for almost nothing, but it needed CPR. The handle was busted, so I fabricated a new one. The unique sliding lock system was so corroded that I had to perform pressure-cooker surgery. I’m happy to report the patient has recovered, and is back in service! This pressure cooker is unique in several ways. It runs at a full 15 PSI where most other pots (including the Instant Pot) operate closer to 11-12 PSI. This electric pressure cooker was introduced in 2004, a full six years before the first Instant Pot came to market. It is built like an absolute tank. I enjoyed fixing it and giving it new life. It appeared that it was never used, and it likely spent a lonely life in a garage or damp basement. After all of these years (and a little TLC) it still works flawlessly. Amazing!

Here are the ingredients. Some are optional. Don’t freak out; making Navy Bean Soup is extremely simple and very flexible!

Here is the top-down view. The only essentials are the beans (8 ounces), chicken broth of some kind (4 cups), an onion (you could also use dehyrated), a couple carrots and a single stalk of celery. I’m using some garlic cloves (I spurged), but you could use jarlic or even garlic powder. I’m also using some spices, (1/2 t each oregano, thyme, cumin, a bay leaf, and pepper), plus a little salt. The spices are very flexible, if you don’t have one simply omit it. Salt and pepper are a must, however. You can make a vegetarian version, but we are meat eaters. I’m using the last of the gifted ham scraps from my sister-in-laws Easter Party. Lastly, I’m using some optional tomato paste for richness, a dash or two of hot sauce for interest, and some olive oil/butter for sauté.

I’m heating up a couple of tablespoons of butter and oil using the pressure cooker’s sauté function. I like to wait until the mixture is bubbly.

I’m not messing around, so in goes the ham and onion. I’ll sauté them for 3-4 minutes, or until the onion softens. I’ll stir occasionally.

In goes in about 3 cloves of sliced garlic. I usually use jarlic, but I had a weak moment at the grocery store and bought the real stuff. I’ll cook the garlic until I smell it and then go on to the next step.

Now, the spices. I’ll stir them around for around 30 seconds or until I can smell them. Heating them like this will intensify their flavor.

Now the carrots and celery.

Next, the 4 cups of chicken broth. I’m using Better Than Bouillon, but you could use homemade, boxed, or cube broth. If you are using a very salty product, go easy on the salt and adjust at the end.

Now, the 8 ounces (half of a 16-oz bag) of dry beans. Dear reader, I have been cooking beans for a very long time, but I always soak them overnight. All of the food influencers emphasize that you can cook beans without soaking in an electric pressure cooker. Well, I tried, with mixed results.

Some recipes say to cook dry Navy Beans for 25 minutes, others 40 minutes. I like my beans to be very soft, so I went for 40 minutes. Guess what, they were still hard. It took another 40 minutes (80 minutes total) to get them to the consistency that I like. It turns out that the recommendations are for fairly fresh beans. I had just received my beans from Amazon the day before (their brand) and apparently they are know to use old beans. Who knew? I’ll do my next post on what to do when you have old beans. In this situation I just pressure cooked the heck out of them, but there are other options. Stay tuned.

I let my soup rest for about 15 minutes before slowly releasing the pressure. Always use caution when using any pressure cooker. Read your instructions and follow them.

After the soup was done, I tossed in some greens (optional) and allowed them to wilt. I added a little hot sauce (not too hot for my Eastern European palate) and tasted for salt. The soup didn’t need any extra.

Here it is, served with some cornbread. It took longer than expected to cook, but it still turned out delicious!

Consider having a bean meal once a week. Beans are a healthy and delicious way to stretch your budget.

Peace

Mike