Homemade Baked Beans.

Homemade baked beans were not exactly my favourite dish as a child. I was always told that I would like them in the future and here I am, baking beans. You start, as pictured above, by soaking your beans. These beans are navy beans but another kind or even a combination of beans can be used. The beans need to be covered with water and soaked overnight. You can use a quick soak method but I don't recommend it. I find the beans are always easier to cook and digest when soaked overnight.

The beans are then combined with onion, garlic and other desired vegetables. Some use carrots, celery, peppers and even apple. Molasses and Maple syrup or honey is then added along with tomato paste, mustard powder, any additional seasonings and water. I do not exactly follow a recipe. I use a recipe for approximate measurements then always make my beans a little different depending on what veggies I have to use up.

You dollop butter on the top to keep the beans from drying out since you cook them for a long time.

I usually bake my beans in the slow cooker on a day when it would be most appreciated. This time I baked my beans on top of the wood stove since we would be using the wood stove anyway to heat the house. One day and one night of baking filled my home with the most pleasant sweet molasses and maple smell.

Here they are bubbling away.