Here's the one I use: Navy Bean Soup From Food Network Kitchens 1 lb navy beans, picked over, rinsed and drained 10 sprigs parsley 2 sprigs fresh thyme 1 bay leaf 2 large smoked ham hocks, about 1-1/2 lb 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped 1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped 8 c cold water 1 medium carrot, coarsely chopped Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper Butter for garnish Place beans in a large saucepan and cover with cold water by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, remove from heat, cover and let sit for one hour. Drain and reserve. Tie parsley, thyme and bay leaf together with kitchen twine. In large soup pot or dutch oven, combine the beans, herb bundle, hocks, onions and garlic with the water. Bring to a boil, cover and adjust the heat so that the soup cooks at a gentle simmer. Cook until the beans and hocks are completely tender, about 1-1/2 hours. Turn off heat and remove hocks. Cool slightly. Remove meat from hocks, discarding the bones, fat and skin. Cut meat into small cubes. Remove herb bundle from soup and discard. Puree about 3 cups of the beans with some of the liquid in a blender. (For a smooth soup, you may puree all the beans). Stir the puree and diced meat into the soup. Heat the soup and adjust seasoning as needed with salt & pepper. Ladle into heated bowls, place a small pat of butter on top of each bowl of soup, serve. Linda

More good stuff. Thank you everyone. Blizlady, Not sure what the origins of this salad is but my beloved Mom made it for as far back as I can remember; I think my my Grandmother made it too. This is a very basic recipe that highlights the freshness of the ingredients. You may be disappointed to learn that it doesn't call for mayo, but I urge you to give it a try. The flavors are fresh and bright. It is not Christmas Eve without it and everyone looks forward to it. The measurements are only a guess, it really is done to taste. Mom's Shrimp Salad 3-4 lbs jumbo boiled shrimp*, cut into 4 pieces crosswise. 4-5 stalks celery, sliced about 1/4" thick (on a slight bias). Cut the wider part of the stalk into two pieces lengthwise before slicing. 2-3 garlic cloves, minced (I used a garlic press) Juice of 1 - 1 1/2 lemons Good quality extra virgin olive oil Kosher salt Toss shrimp, celery, garlic together. Add lemon juice and drizzle a few tablespoons olive oil. Lightly salt,toss. Serve chilled or room temp. *I buy the 4lb bags of shrimo at Costco, the ones that are by the fresh fish and sometimes sold at the kiosk. They are already deveined and cleaned; one only has to defrost (I defrost them in cool water) and remove the shells. To a pot of water I add lemon slices, pepper corns, bayleaf, and any other herb or spice I feel like including (coriander is good too). Once at a boil, I add some salt. Add shrimp and wait until pot returns to a boil. Check for doneness every so often. Once done, drain in colander and rinse with cold water. To trim shrimp, remove the 'beard' (its the overcooked flap of overcooked shrimp where the head was), and pull off the strips that looked ragged along each side of the slit. The cats are treated to these scraps. Sue

This one is always a huge hit when we go boating. Travels well, very tasty , substantial and a bit different. Don't let the ingredients list put you off it really is very easy to make. Real N'awlins Muffuletta (Weed) 1 cup pimento-stuffed green olives crushed 1/2 Cup drained kalamata olives crushed 2 Clove garlic minced 1/4 Cup roughly chopped pickled cauliflower florets 2 Tbl drained capers 1 Tbl chopped celery 1 Tbl chopped carrot 1/2 Cup pepperoncini drained 1/4 Cup marinated cocktail onions 1/2 Tsp celery seed 1 Tsp dried oregano 1 Tsp dried basil 3/4 Tsp ground black pepper 1/4 Cup red wine vinegar 1/2 Cup olive oil 1/4 Cup canola oil 2 (1 pound) loaves Italian bread 8 ounces thinly sliced Genoa salami 8 ounces thinly sliced cooked ham 8 ounces sliced mortadella orcappicola 8 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese 8 ounces sliced provolone cheese Directions 1. To Make Olive Salad: In a medium bowl, combine the green olives, kalamata olives, garlic, cauliflower, capers, celery, carrot, pepperoncini, cocktail onions, celery seed, oregano, basil, black pepper, vinegar, olive oil and canola oil. Mix together and transfer mixture into a glass jar (or other nonreactive container). If needed, pour in more oil to cover. Cover jar or container and refrigerate at least overnight. 2. To Make Sandwiches: Cut loaves of bread in half horizontally; hollow out some of the excess bread to make room for filling. Spread each piece of bread with equal amounts olive salad, including oil. Layer 'bottom half' of each loaf with 1/2 of the salami, ham, mortadella ,mozzarella and Provolone. Replace 'top half' on each loaf and cut sandwich into quarters. 3 Serve immediately, or wrap tightly and refrigerate for a few hours; this will allow for the flavors to mingle and the olive salad to soak into the bread.

In case you're interested in adding international recipes, here are my two favourite meatball recipes, one from Germany and the other from Mallorca, Spain. (Poached meatballs in lemon & caper sauce.) Here is a German dish which originated in Königsberg, former capital of eastern Prussia, now part of Russia and called Kaliningrad. Having a pleasant, mild flavour, these meatballs are also a low calorie dish as they are cooked in water. They're well known in most German households and are often a family favourite. Ingredients: 1/2 lb finely ground veal (225 grams) 1/2 lb finely ground lean pork (225 grams) 1 large onion - peeled and finely chopped 8 finely chopped + 2 finely chopped later for sauce (total 50 grams) 2 TBS capers finely chopped + 1 TBS whole capers later for the sauce 1 lg egg, beaten 3 slices firm crusts removed, soaked in water juice of 1/2 lemon - or juice of whole lemon if it is very small 2 bay leaves 2 whole cloves (aromatic spice cloves) 1/2 TBS oil for frying onion 2 TBS flour mixed with water salt & freshly ground pepper 1. Sauté onion gently until golden and put aside. 2. Mix the two ground meats with 8 of the chopped anchovies, 2 TBS chopped capers, beaten egg and the soaked bread which has been squeezed dry. Then mix in the cooled fried onion and some salt and pepper. 3. In a wide saucepan put 3 3/4 cups of water and add some salt, the lemon juice, bay leaves and cloves. Bring to the boil. 4. Meanwhile form large meatballs with hands and place on a plate - about 14 meatballs. If water boils, turn off until all meatballs are formed. and bring it slowly back to the boil then lower heat and let simmer gently for 30 minutes. Turn meatballs once or twice during this time. 6. When cooked, remove meatballs with slotted spoon to a casserole and keep warm. Mix flour and cold water to a paste and add to the cooking water, stirring to thicken. Add the last two anchovies, chopped fine and 1 TBS whole capers. Bring to the boil and simmer 2 - 3 minutes. Pour and serve with boiled potatoes and green beans. I actually had more sauce than what appears here in the photo. I kept the rest in the pot on the stove for keeping hot. Note: They turned out very well. My lemon was VERY juicy and as I used all the juice, it was a bit too much. Go easy on the lemon juice if it is a large lemon. SharonCb ************************************* Here's a favourite dish from the Island of Mallorca, Spain. - 4 servings 700 grams ground veal (I use 1/2 pork & 1/2 veal) 3 eggs - beaten 1 medium onion - minced 2 cloves garlic - minced flat-leaf parsley - lots 2 teasp oregano 2 teasp thyme 2 teasp sweet paprika powder 2 teasp salt fresh ground black pepper cooking oil 3 medium very ripe tomatoes - (skinning is optional) chopped 1/2 cup milk & 1/4 cup water flour 4 - 6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chips (french fries) Utensils needed: - small frying pan about 6 inches diameter - medium or large frying pan or chip fryer - earthenware or ceramic stovetop casserole with lid 1) Mix meat with beaten egg, minced garlic, 2/3 of the chopped onion, salt & pepper, herbs and paprika. Add a few stalks of parsley chopped fine. Mix all together. 2) Pour about 1 cm oil into small frying pan and put on medium heat. Put some seasoned flour (s&p) on a dinner plate and using a small spoon, scoop out meat mixture and begin forming meatballs with help of floured hands, rolling them in flour as needed. Put them on floured plate and when you have six and oil is hot, put them carefully using spoon into the small frying pan to brown. 3) After two or three minutes turn meatballs over using a small spoon. Continue forming more meatballs. 4) As meatballs brown, remove and put them into casserole dish, adding the fresh ones to the pan, six at a time. 5) When done, strain out any burned bits in the frying pan oil and put in the rest of the onion with the tomato, as well as a handful of minced parsley. Cook on medium heat. 6) After a few minutes add the milk and water. Taste and if tomato flavour is too sharp add a pinch of sugar, also some salt. Pour sauce over meatballs in casserole, (optional is pour it through a sieve for finer sauce) put on low heat with lid and simmer very gently 20 minutes, checking and turning them over once. 8) Prepare potatoes and in oil in large frying pan or chip fryer begin making the french fries a few at a time, salting them and keeping them hot in oven. Put a few chips on top of the meatballs, add a bit of chopped parsley and serve at table with extra chips on each plate. Source: Adapted from 'Cocina selecta Mallorquin' SharonCb