Honey Baked Beans

Who knew that I would have to sift through rocks, twigs, and dirt for a half an hour just to get a bowl of pinto beans? Actually, I knew. I knew because I did it last year at this time and vowed I would never to it again. That's until I made the recipe for baked beans that came with them. Divine.

The beans are from Cherryvale Organic Farm. I never thought about how pinto beans were grown until I had the Zen experience of picking through them. They must be grown in a rock quarry.

So, in honour of our first 100-mile meal, I decided to make something special. I pulled out the recipe from last year, took out some sausage to thaw...and watched Mike's cold-hearted feeling towards my latest adventure thaw a little too. He really liked the beans last year. Then, I found the still-point in my mind as I stood over the sink, rummaging for beans. Again, too much time on my hands?

It's so worth it.

Here's the recipe.

HONEY BAKED BEANS

Soak 2 1/2 cups of pinto beans overnight, drain

1/2 to 1lb of sliced bacon or ham (I'm trying sausage because I must have thought an army of people who like sausage would descend on our home in the near future)

1 large onion

3 cloves of garlic

1 cup of honey (I'll be using honey from Logan Apiaries)

2 tsp of dry mustard

3 tbsp ground ginger

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Cover soaked beans with 3 quarts water ~ bring to a boil ~ lower heat and simmer until beans are tender (30-35 min) ~ drain beans in a colander placed over a saucepan to save cooking liquid ~ pre-heat oven to 300 F ~ Put the beans in a large baking pan with a lid and mix in pork, onion, and garlic ~ measure 2 cups of the cooking liquid, stirring in the honey and spices ~ pour liquid over the beans ~ stir and cover ~ bake for 2 1/2 hours ~ I put loads of cheese on top for the last 30 minutes.

mmmm...

And the recipe ended with this quotation:

"If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live."

Albert Einstein

I guess we won't be able to use the mustard, ginger, salt, or pepper...not so local.

I thought of making super slaw to go with the beans but hesitated. Cabbage and beans? Sounds like trouble.