King of White Bean Soup

A recipe today from the man that I both adore and torture in equal measure. We ate this soup for lunch, and it's sooo good, it should be upgraded to Emperor of a small planet or two.

* 1 500g packet large basque white beans (mine are Garcia's own brand, labelled as alubias). Do not try cooking this in a white basque with normal beans; you'll look silly, the recipe won't work, and you may have trouble stirring the pans...
* 1/4 pint double cream
* 20 basil leaves, coarsely chopped
* 6 shallots, finely chopped
* 6 rashers smoked back bacon
* Pepper
* At least 4 or 5 vigorous shakes of malt vinegar

Soak the beans overnight.
Put the beans onto a gentle simmer.
Put the cream into a bowl. Add the basil leaves and shallots. Set to one side.
Put the bacon under a grill. When done, cut into largish pieces, add them to the cream. Season the cream mixture with the pepper and vinegar; stir, and set to one side again.
When the beans are done, add some of the bean water to the cream. Drain and rinse the beans, then put them into the cream mixture, and serve.

Midwest Cuisine (sic)

Having spent a week eating Midwestern cuisine, I have only one thing to say. Don't eat the meat. It may be cow country, but go vegetarian: trust me, it's safer. And you really don't want to know what the Navajo can do to a taco.