Recipe Cassoulet, introducing the Great Northern Bean!!

White beans are the heart and soul of Cassoulet. My pick is the Great Northern Bean though there are others one could use such as Navy or Cannelli beans. Why Great Northern you might ask, there delicate flavor, Great Northern beans do not have a strong flavor allowing them to absorb the flavors of the other ingredients giving ones buds a rush of flavors with each bite.
It has been long argued if soaking of the beans is necessary, in my view no, it is important to inspect the beans as a whole discarding cracked or otherwise imperfect beans and a quick rinse with cold water. It has been said by soaking dried beans they will allow one to produce less flatulence or gas once cooked, myth or fact,  you be the judge. OK now onto the cooking of the Great Northern Beans. Sure one could use canned beans and I will offer a recipe for cassoulet using canned Great Northern Bean but the liquid in which the beans are cooked play an important role in the grand finale.
I use the 1 - 1 ratio when cooking the bean meaning 1 pound of dried bean to 1 gallon of liquid or water in this case.
Fill a stock pot with 1 gallon of water, add dried sorted Great Northern Beans, turn the heat to high and bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cover, allow beans to simmer for 30 mins, after 30 mins  minimally salt the water and add 1 tbsp garlic powder or 2 cloves of fresh garlic, recover and simmer for another hour, total cooking time is about 1 1/2 hours or until the beans are just tender. It is important to NOT over cook the beans, keep in mind this is just the first cook of the bean if you will, they will continue cooking as the cassoulet is brought together.
Step two will be in the next posting as will be the total list of ingredients, until then "Think Good
Thoughts & Smile".