Ham hock and beans

Here's what I'm having for dinner. Creamy mild white beans, simmered all day to tender perfection in a smoky sweet ham hock bath. This is so easy to make, and your house will smell like a dream. On a crisp, cold day this is such a welcome treat. The essence of gentle comfort.

Method:

I roughly chopped an onion and sauteed it in a little butter until translucent, added two pounds of dried beans (here I used yellow eye from Rancho Gordo), and the back end of my Thanksgiving Honeybaked ham. Without measuring, I added enough water to mostly cover the whole ordeal, 2 tsp of salt, and let it simmer on low in my beloved 10 qt copper pot for the better part of the day until the beans were melt-in-your-mouth tender. You can definitely get more involved here if you want, with garlic and spices etc. But rest assured you need nothing more than literally three ingredients--onion, beans, ham--plus water, and a leisurely bit of time, to create the ultimate winter supper. My toddler and baby devour this so I can assure you it's kid approved, and equally favored by my sensitive pregnant belly and king-sized husband.