New Food Blog and 15 bean soup

I originally wrote this first post a couple weeks ago, but have since resolved to make this food blog thing a year long project and so now, for the first two entries, I am back posting. I will be writting reguarly about the food I make this year, and my foodie revelations. This project is mostly a discipline on my part, but hopefully I can use it as a tool to improve my cooking as well as maybe inspiring creativity.

12-6-09- Today I am making a very humble bean soup. This is something I had on a regular basis growing up and honestly thought I would never make again. My Mother used to make bean soup quite a bit growing up and we would eat the leftovers for days and days. Hers consisted of beans, usually just pinto, water and if we were lucky, a ham hock. She would top it off with melted cheddar cheese and a tortilla, if they were around, and voila that was dinner. My version is going to be somewhat different. Isabella my daughter, had her first cheerleading event this morning. When we left the high school it was clear, but by the time lunch time rolled around it was dumping snow. Living in a ski town, the weather can change in minutes. The weather calls for something hearty and I have all the ingredients to make a great 15 bean soup. I had no recipe. I mean it is bean soup and I don't think there is an actual science to it. I basically just drained the previously dried beans from the pot of water they had been soaking in overnight and put them in a crock pot. I added a chopped onion, carrot and 2 celery stalks (cut lengthwise and then chopped) we had a left over yellow bell pepper in the fridge so I cut it up and tossed it in as well. Then I added a can of petite diced tomatoes, a bottle of beer (corona) and filled the rest of the pot up with chicken stock. Next I threw in a smoked pork chop, bay leaf, and galric powder, chili powder and a half a packet of lipton onion soup mix. I have high hopes. I think I will top my bean soup off with parmesan cheese, curl up on the couch and watch a movie. A perfect end to a blustery day.
NOTE: In retrospect, since this day has already passed, I would like to say that it took the beans a while to cook in the crock pot. About 7 hours. But the soup itself was delightful. Oh, and I didn't watch a movie. It sounded good, but my inlaws came by just as dinner was being served and they joined us and we talked. Afterwards, there was no time for a movie. But still a good night.