Ham Bean Soup

I'm a programmer by day, bread baker by night. To make a living, I do process automation for management at an inbound call center. (It's really not as exciting as it sounds.) Actually, I enjoy my job. There are worse things I could be doing to finance my cooking / baking habits. I never really knew how to cook growing up. Some of you in the Breads and Baking forum have heard my disastrous story about making Nestle Toll House cookies... When I went to college and moved out of the dorms, I started to become interested in actually learning how to cook. I had a lactose intolerant boyfriend, and a limited budget, so it made sense to stop eating take-out pizza and Taco Bell every day. I have to credit The Dairy Free Cookbook by Jane Zukin as my first real guide. (I still cook out of it , even though the boyfriend is long gone!) With that as a start, I set about systematically teaching myself how to cook. Five years later, I'm getting a reputation from friends and family as being a good cook. I love baking bread from scratch (I could really become a sourdough freak - thanks Donna!) - I can't seem to make enough cinnamon raisin swirl to keep my mom and grandmother happy. I'm enjoying getting back to eating seasonally, eschewing over - processed prepared food in favor of simpler, healthier, better tasting, cheaper meals I make myself. When I set out to learn, I never imagined I'd be making stock, roasting whole chickens, baking bread, or shopping at our local farmer's market. Now I can't imagine going back to the way I used to eat. I hope someday to learn enough about bread baking to open a local bakery/cafe, somewhere in Westport or Downtown Kansas City. I love my city, and the kind of place I have in mind will be a place that gives back to the community. I want to leave this city a better place for my having been here. Here's my standard metric for how I review recipes here, because I want my reviews to be helpful and consistent: ***** Fantastic as is. Wouldn't change a thing and will make it often. 0**** Fantastic tweaked a little to suit my tastes. Will make it often. 00*** Had to tweak it alot to get something I would make again. 000** Not very good. May try tweaking it again at some point. 0000* Not good. Probably won't try making again, even with tweaks. <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/adopted_1_1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting">