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Here’s a recipe which will satisfy your winter hunger pangs. And if you were fortunate enough to have received a smoked ham for Christmas, you are just a couple of days away from some of the best eating that you will ever have this winter. Here’s what you will need:

5 Qt. slow cooker.

Left over ham bone with some meat still on the bone and a pound of cut up ham pieces.

One pound package of Navy beans.

One 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes.

Two carrots, two onions, and two stalks of celery – all cut up.

Soak the beans in a large bowl of cold water for 24 hours. Drain the water from the beans, rinse, and drain again. Place the ham bone and ham pieces in the bottom of the crock pot. Add the beans, crushed tomatoes, and the vegetables. Turn on the crock pot and fill it with water to about one inch from the top. Add one teaspoon of black pepper and about a half teaspoon of salt.

After cooling for about 12 hours, remove ham bone from the crock pot and cut off any meat that remains on the bone. Return meat to the crock pot, refill the crock pot with water, and cook until the beans are tender. Makes a nice winter meal along with some corn bread and butter.

Winter can be a drag when the temperatures plunge into the single digits, but do take the time to walk outside and feel the sting of the arctic air on your face. Especially notice how the animals survive in this cold.

But they must have shelter from the wind, food, and open water to drink. And that’s why a whole flock of Canadian Geese were happily swimming in the outlet of Canandaigua Lake, dipping and diving for some sea weed, and enjoying the sunshine even though the temperature was eleven degrees.

And if the cold starts to get to you, just heat up a bowl of country ham and bean soup. Spring is not that far away!