Wash and pick over beans. Cover with water and soak overnight, or quick soak. Discard soaking water, rinse beans and put in a large soup pot. Add the 8c of water and bring to a boil. Cover tightly and reduce heat to a low simmer. Add carrots. In a nonstick pan saute onion in balsamic vinegar until it carmelizes (this takes a while on low heat). Add garlic, celery leaves, and bell pepper. Continue sauteeing, adding more liquid as necessary. When the mixture has cooked down somewhat, add it to the beans. Add the remaining ingredients except the miso. Simmer *very* slowly for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Stir in the miso and simmer from 1 to 2 more hours, until beans are as tender as desired. Remove bay leaves and serve with hard bread and salad. Recipe from Veggie Pages recipe archive Submitted by Robert Simmons (simmons@Texaco.COM) Posted by Lisa Greenwood Posted to MM-Recipes Digest V4 #118 by BobbieB1@aol.com on Apr 28, 1997