Cold Weather...Hot Beans!

The walk into school has been deceptively cold these last two days. It has looked so absolutely gorgeous outside (although overcast) for the last week or more.......I finally remembered to bring my camera on the walk. Although......it and I......were a little slow moving in the cold -20C this morning, I did manage to snap a few before my fingers threatened to not cooperate.

The landscape has been very monochromatic for the last little while. While it is pretty...I'm hoping it will warm up just 5 or 10 degrees at least for the nights of snowboarding lessons I have booked for Ike next week. Since we are in the prime months for really cold weather.....I may be out of luck. With these lower temperatures.....I've been craving some of Grama's Stove Top Pork and Beans. A slight search revealed a hand written recipe with a sample bean taped to it.....just to make sure I got the right kind (thanks mom!). This recipe is one that my Grama K made often for lunch for my mom and her siblings back in the 1940's. You can double the batch to make a larger quantity too:) If I had thought about it more.....I might have made some homemade buns to go with it......Maybe tomorrow then......since these beans are even better the next day. When it's cold out....there's something very satisfying about cooking a pot of beans don't you think?? I can hardly wait for them to be ready:)

Grama's Stove Top Pork and Beans

1 cup beans (Yellow Eye Beans if you can find them....if not just white beans will do)
Soak these over night (or at least for 2 hours) with water covering them by 2 inches.

After soaking,

Bring the beans and water to a boil and simmer slowly for 30 minutes, removing and discarding any scum or foam that rises to the top...this is just starch from the beans. After 30 minutes, dump the beans and water into a colander......return the drained beans to the pot and refill with clean water to cover the beans by 1 1/2 inches. Return the beans and water to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Remove any further foam that rises and discard it.

To the pot add,

1 minced onion
3 strips bacon finely chopped
1 tsp dry mustard
4 tbsp brown sugar
a few dashes of Hungarian paprika or (smoked paprika if you have it)
a few dashes of cayenne pepper
1/4 c ketchup
4 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp molasses
1 tsp beef soup base

Simmer until done (1-2 hours). I also added 2 tbsp of whiskey but it's not necessary. Cooking time varies with the freshness of the dried beans you can get. My mom grows and keeps her own beans to make this recipe and these beans have been kept for a very very long time now. I will have to get me some beans from mom and continue the tradition. Tastes better the following day.