| 1 | Presoak (8 hrs) or preboil (1 hr) beans, drain and rinse. |
| 2 | Add chicken stock to soup pot and add beans. |
| 3 | Turn heat on low. |
| 4 | Add all ingredients just like that. |
| 5 | Do not precook meat. |
| 6 | The grated potato thickens the broth, another favorite thickener may be used, i prefer the potato. |
| 7 | Simmer this soup for 2 hours before serving. |
| 8 | I probably add more basil than listed, do that to taste. |
| 9 | Go easy on the sage but it is quite important. |
| 10 | You may add a tablespoon of sugar to perk this soup up a bit, i do not recall off hand if i did or not. |
| 11 | Another ingredient to perk it up is a tablespoon of vinegar--don"t overdo. |
