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The crocus are blooming like mad in the garden now that the snow has melted away. Meanwhile I have been rediscovering all sorts of interesting things in the spinning fiber stash. I decided to give some laceweight a try with this merino/tencel I picked up at the Ellen's Halfpint Farm booth last year at the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival. I split the roving in half lenghtwise and plan to make a two ply with it.

I finally satisfied my craving for ham and bean soup this week. These are some bumblebee beans I found at the local market where I can always find local dried beans. I also found an escarole like I haven't seen before. It looked like an enormous green chrysanthemum, kind of like the Giant Ortolani on this page. I saved some of the juices from the ham to add to my soup so it needed no additional salt at all. Sometimes I add onion, celery, carrot and bay leaf while the beans cook and then toss those things out before completing the soup.

Ham and Bean Soup with Escarole

1 pound dried beans
2 cups chopped ham
1 head escarole chopped

Place beans with water to cover by 3 inches in a pressure cooker. Bring up to high pressure and cook for 25 minutes (amount of time depends on size and freshness of your dried beans). Remove from heat and allow to cool until it's safe to open. Drain off as much excess liquid as is desired then stir in ham and escarole. With the lid off bring to a simmer and cook until escarole is wilted. Taste and adjust seasonings.