Lima bean soup (baby Lima beans)

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This is yummy and serves about 4 bowls--my son says, "man, this is really good" as he got seconds

1 pound of dried baby (white) Lima beans
water to cover beans to a depth of 2 inches--

4 additional cups of water
1 small bag of baby carrots (16 ounces), chopped
2 shallots , chopped up (or some purple onion--I used both)
green onions, 2-3 chopped including the green part
2 stalks of celery, chopped
4 vegetable bullion cubes (I love Rapunzel brand see photo below--vegan--Makes a HUGE difference in flavor)
salt and pepper to taste
basil (dried--about 1 tsp)
thyme (dried-about 1/2 to 1 tsp)
garlic (2 whole cloves --good sized ones, chopped)
garlic powder (added later--sprinkled more to taste)
liquid smoke (about 1/4 tsp)--more if you like
fresh rosemary--about 2 inch sprig
olive oil--1 tablespoon

parmigiana cheese OPTIONAL

Wash and sort your baby Lima beans. Place in a large pot and cover it with 2 inches of water. Boil for 2 minutes and then shut off and let set for 1-2 hours in the liquid. (or you can just soak the beans in cool water overnight).

Drain off the beans. Rinse the beans.

Place the olive oil in your pot. Add the veggies (carrots, shallots, green onions, celery, and 2 garlic cloves). Saute for about 5 minutes until onion is softened and garlic starts cooking). Mix your vegetable bullion with 4 cups of very hot water and dissolve and add to the pot. Add the beans which you have already prepped. Add some salt and pepper, basil and and thyme.  Cook for 2-3 hours (mine took a long time to get the beans tender---I may have had it too low--I turned it up higher. I actually cooked mine for about 3 hours). Near the last hour mash some of the beans with a potato masher right in the pot. Near the last hour of cooking at the rosemary and garlic powder.Add more salt and pepper if needed. Add liquid smoke right at end stirring well.

You an serve with parmigiana if you desire, but I didn't feel it needed the addition---this soup is full of flavor. The vegetable bullion you use makes a huge difference too!