Baked Beans

It’s cold here, very cold. After a long summer, winter came to stay. And the flow makes that we stay in home more than we like. So I crave some comfort food. And the best comfort food for me means beans Also nutritionists alike are recommending we eat more beans, are always a good source of protein. I adore baked beans, though I admit I generally buy them canned Well in fact I can’t find here my Heinz favorite So, every time I traveled, I come back with a suitcase full of food, new ingredients and three or four caned beaked beans . Thanks God I never had problems with the customs. As I always thought making beans from scratch was a lot of work and while this recipe is time consuming; the oven does all of the work for you! Cooking dried beans is really less intimidating than it sounds! I realized my own homemade version, once, would never be able to live up to my beloved stuff in a can - ha! :)

Ingredients 1 cup dried haricot, navy or kidney beans, I used white beans 2 onions, chopped 1/2 tsp olive oil or butter 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 Tbsp soy sauce 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar 2 Tbsp molasses 2 Tbsp tomato paste 1 Tbsp wholegrain mustard Freshly ground black pepper Salt

• Pour boiling water over the beans and leave for an hour with the lid on. • Drain the beans and fill the pot with water again. Bring to a boil and simmer until the beans are tender. Drain. • In a heavy sauce pan sauté onions and garlic until soft • Dump the beans and sauté onions and garlic into baking dish or Crock-Pot and add the remaining ingredients. Stir together. • Bake, uncovered at 350F about 40-45 minutes in oven or 2 hours on high in Crock-Pot. Check from time to time—if beans are dry, water or stock can be stirred in to prevent sticking. • Serve beans over rice toasts or corn chips, or use to stuff burritos