Title: Brenda's black bean soup
 Categories: Soups, Beans
      Yield: 6 servings
 
      3 c  Dried black beans
      2    Ham hocks
      1    Bell pepper (chopped)
      1 sm Onion (chopped)
      1    Whole sour orange or
           -tangerine
      1 tb Vinegar (if you used a sweet
           -orange or tangerine)
      1    Stick oleo
      2 tb Of flour
 
  Tried out the "White Trash Cookbook" last night and whipped up this
  black bean soup. In spite of the fact that I forgot to finish it with
  the browned flour and butter, it turned out pretty darn good, if a
  tad bland. (I did cheat and use real butter instead of oleo.) Here's
  the recipe. Never having had black bean soup before, let alone making
  it, I'm not sure what would be kosher to liven it up a bit. Anyone
  have any tips? I served it with cornbread and a plate of sliced home
  grown tomatoes. BTW, the recipe is transcribed exactly as it appears
  in the book to give a taste of Mickler's writing style. Pretty neat
  stuff, though I'm not sure if I'm ready for the cold collard sandwich
  yet...
  
  Salt and pepper to taste
  
  Put your beans in a soup pot and cover with water. Boil, take off the
  fire and let sit until cool. Cook onions and bell peppers in 1/2 the
  oleo until limp. Add them and the ham hocks and orange to the cooled
  beans; cover charitably with water. Simmer until beans is soft (1 to
  2 hours). Fish out the orange right now, before it gets tore up. With
  the rest of the oleo, brown the flour in a black frying pan, then
  stir it into the beans. Brenda says: "Make sure you got a soup, now.
  If you need to add some more water, do it."