Cooked a fresh whole ham. After all was said and done, I packaged up the leftovers in (more or less) equal portions, including the bone. Then I got busy picking thru and cleaning 4 pounds of pinto beans. Rinsed well, covered with two inches of cold water and set stove to on position.After reaching boil, reduced to simmer, added a handful of minced fresh garlic and a couple of red onions, and a hand full of fresh course ground black pepper (I like using my cordless drill with my pepper mill for this chore).As I keep stirring with a spatula (to scrape the pan bottom) frequently, I can monitor the water level and add a shaker glass of cold water to keep the water level up just above the beans. After about 40 minutes or so I add the ham bone and around 8-10 cups of diced ham. We like around 60/40 bean to ham ratio.Keeping the water level as previously mentioned, I simmer for about 3 1/2 hours, and the liquid turns to a very nice brown thick sauce like consistency.No need for any chopped red onion and xtra sharp chedder cheese though, but it does add another tasty element!To the foodsaver machine goes the excess.Now with a clean double boiler, a gallon of fresh shucked medium select Gulf Oysters, a gallon of excellent fresh whole milk, a pound of unsalted butter and a hand full of fresh course ground black pepper, Oyster Stew. Cayenne Pepper and Oyster Crackers are all you need. No potatoes, no cream, nothing else.