Beans, Beans ...

Know what the most-eaten bean in Michigan is? It's the black bean.

Did you also know our Great State grows great beans? We're #2 in the country when it comes to producing beans.

Bob Green, the Chair of the Michigan Bean Commission, tells us Michigan beans contribute over $120,000,000 to our economy.

Most every can of beans that you buy contains Michigan beans. They are sometimes co-mingled with beans from other states, so no brand is necessarily 100% Michigan made. But with our #2 position, you can bet a bunch of the beans are from "the Mitten."

Bags of beans will say on the bag where they are from. +

Be sure to check out the Michigan Bean Commission website under "related links" to your right. And here's Priscilla's recipe for this lovely legume.

Senate Bean Soup

1 pound (2 cups) dry Michigan Beans

1 meaty ham bone or 1-1/2 pounds ham hocks or for lower calorie verision use Turkey Ham instead of ham

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup chopped celery

2/3 cup mashed potato flakes or 1-1/2 cups mashed potatoes

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1-1/2 teaspoons salt (or ham bouillon)

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon each, nutmeg, oregano, and basil

1 bay leaf

Wash and sort beans. In a large kettle, cover beans with 6 to 8 cups of hot water. Bring to a boil; boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 1 hour. Add another 2 quarts of cold water and ham bone. Bring to a boil; simmer 1-1/2 hours. Stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes or until beans are tender. Remove ham bone, trim off meat, return to soup.

Makes about 3 quarts.