Ahhh, my youth! This is my mother's recipe, as well. It makes me long for the cool rainy season, and, as I'm also in hot Nor Cal with 100 degree days, it can't come a moment too soon. Thanks for posting this, this one goes into my binder.

Made this Sunday afternoon for dinner during
the week. Had to use smoked ham hocks as
Safeway didn't have shanks. Cooked them in
10 cups of water. The beans took 1 1/2 hours
to cook. The end result tasted a little
bland so I added salt to compensate. The
next time I think I'll try 5 cups water and
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth.

I've made this receipe but use the great northern beans that can be purchased in a glass container already cooked. (Can be bought ahead of time to be used at a later time).
Also I use approximately 2-3 cans of chicken broth instead of water.
Instead of a ham bone I purchase packaged diced ham from the lunch meat area in the grocery store. This ham can be frozen before hand to be used when necessary.
Besides the carrots, celery, onions, I add a small amount of chopped potatoes and a small can of diced tomatoes drained and salt and pepper to taste.
By having the beans and diced ham on hand I can make this bean soup any time as I usually have the other ingredients in the fridge.

Great recipe...
I used chicken stock instead of water but would recommend low sodium chicken stock instead.

Made this yesterday afternoon. This is very good! My son loved it so much that he had it for dinner last night and breakfast this morning. I did not put tabasco though cause I was not sure my son would like it. Also, I added a little beef bouillion.

Just HAD to post: I just made this recipe on Christmas Day, using the leftover ham from our Christmas dinner. It took no time to make and was a hit! It was sort of like "dinner--round two" for us! Thank you!

My mom used to make this when I was growing. I make it now and have with garlic bread. Very Good!

I printed off this recipe and tried it. My husband and I both loved it. In fact, we just had it for lunch today and it's delicious. I had made a ham a week ago and I used the ham bone in this one. Normally, I would just toss it but when I read this recipe, I decided to try it. No more ham bones in the garbage, that's for sure. Thank you.

This came out great. I mashed the veggies with my spoon a bit near the end. Dislike intact bean texture. Fantastic soup though. Thanks.

Made this last yesterday. Soaked my beans for 2 hours then simmered with Ham and Vegs another 3 hours. I sauteed the vegs in olive oil for a few minutes prior to adding the mto the pot. This was wonderful. I usually do the overnight soak but this turned out fine. Accompanied with some mexican cornbread and a cold beer and it was a meal to remember. Thanks for the recipe

Made this today for dinner. Made just a few minor adjustments to the recipe and it turned out great. Used a little more water and more veggies (another couple carrots and 3 large ribs of celery). Used a few more beans (navy beans because it's what I had) than called for so that I could put about 2 cups or so through the blender to thicken the soup. Used an Italian herb blend since I do not have Herbes de Provence. Used 2 large ham shanks. Didn't use Tabasco because I was out, but will try it next time. Had done a lot of searching for just the right recipe for Ham and Bean soup. Glad I settled on this one!! My husband and young children all liked it too.