1 lb. white navy beans
2 ham hocks or piece of ham with bone
1 onion, chopped
4 qts water
Garlic powder or about 1/4 tsp. garlic
About 1/4 tsp. pepper

Wash and soak beans overnight (cover the beans with about 2 inches of water).

Cook ham hocks, chopped onions, garlic and pepper, in the 4 quarts of water until ham is cooked. Drain and put ham hocks aside. Clean off any pieces of ham, chop into small pieces and add to soup when finished.

Measure the drained broth, add water to make 4 quarts again. Cook beans in this broth. Add 8 beef bouillon cubes and more garlic and black pepper. Cook until beans are tender and fall apart. Mash some or all of the beans with potato masher.

Dice 1/2 pound bacon to very small pieces. Saute until brown, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Clean and dice as small as you can: 2 c. carrots 1 c. celery

Saute onions, carrots, and celery with the bacon until the onions have turned transparent. Add this mixture to beans. Add 1 quart finely shredded cabbage. Cook until tender. Add one quart diced potatoes and pieces of diced ham from ham hocks. Finish cooking soup and season to taste.

Serve with Croatian pogeca or any hard bread. If you cooked pieces of ham in broth, serve the ham with horseradish sauce and bread.