Ingredients:

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
  1              Pound  dried whte beans
  6               Cups  water
     1/2         Pound  potatoes
     1/4           Cup  milk or light cream
     1/4           Cup  chopped parsley
     1/2           Cup  celery and onion
  2             Cloves  garlic chopped
     1/2      Teaspoon  crushed thyme
  1           Teaspoon  salt
  1           Teaspoon  oregano

Preparation:

Soak beans overnight. Drain. Cover beans with water and bring to a boil in a large saucepan. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Scrub potaotes and cut into thick slices. Steam or microwave until tender. Mash potatoes, then add milk or cream until fluffy. Add potatoes and remaining ingredients to cooked beans. Cover and simmer gently for another hour, stirring occasionally and lightly mashing beans with a fork or potato masher until soup becomes pulpy. Season to taste and serve warm. The soup that won raves in the U.S. Senate cafeteria gets a garlicky life with this adaptation. 6 servings.

Nutritional Information:

189 Calories (kcal); trace Total Fat; (2% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 43g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 2197mg Sodium