Baking Beans and Watching Playoffs

Because what else does one do on a snowy Sunday in January?

We had a bit of a snowstorm last night.  Only four inches landed where I live, but since predictions were up to six inches or more, people hunkered in.  One of the Connecticut police departments had posted this last year, and it circulated again this weekend:

I did not plan as well as some, and so didn't have soup or anything simmering or ready to simmer while the snow was falling.  I decided to make old-fashioned baked beans, so started the beans soaking last night.  I also looked up recipes, and found that most modern baked bean recipes either used canned beans, or dress up pork-and-beans, or some combination.  I was having trouble finding an old-fashioned recipe using soaked beans.  So I went to one of my reproduction cookery books, which has a fairly basic one:

 

I didn't want to make that much, so I used a cup of mixed dried beans, soaked overnight.  Then I drained, rinsed, added fresh water, boiled, and simmered until a bean was soft when tested.  I drained them again and scattered them into my Dutch oven.  Give the quantity of beans, and the size of my onions, I used a half an onion, which I cut into four wedges so they could bury in the beans, which were a bit thinly spread in my Dutch oven:

At that point, I added about a quarter-cup of molasses, and rinsed the jar a couple of times with water to clean it and make sure I had all the molasses.  I doubled the proportion of mustard, adding the full two teaspoons, as I thought it would be better a bit spicy.

      

I also put in two cloves of garlic (one whole, one split) and a bay leaf for added taste.  I left out the pork, having none, nor any other meaty thing that would substitute.  Then I covered the pot, put it into the oven, and left it to bake.  I gave it a look and stir at ninety minutes, then another ninety minutes took another a look and added a cup of water, stirred, and back into the oven:

Then I had a nap, so the next check was after two hours, when I added more water, and at the end of about six-and-a-half hours I decided it was done enough and put the oven to warming until I was ready to eat.  At this point, it looked nearly black and the beans were quite lacquered:

I put the beans in a white bowl to make them easier to photograph.

VERDICT:   Meh.  Rather sweet, of course, and not much tang from mustard, onion, or garlic.  Definitely something you need to eat with other things, to balance the meal, or additional spicing is needed.  No wonder so many of the recipes I found were for dressing-up or added things to the pot.  Some of the beans were also still quite firm, so maybe more water and simmering instead of putting it on low?  Lighter molasses, not blackstrap?   (I'd wanted to finish off the jar, which a friend left when moving out of state.)  Maybe some smoked paprika; one vegan version used liquid smoke, substituting for the pork, and that might have balanced the flavours better, but I don't have any.

I thought about adding hot sauce or some other spices while the beans were cooking, but I wanted it to be reasonably close to the original recipe, so I didn't.  However, when I portioned out the beans for storage, I put a portion into a small dish and added some ground allspice, as I thought cloves might be nice but I have only whole ones, and allspice is similar.

The remainder, about two portions, I put into a larger dish and added most of a can of Ro*Tel fire-roasted tomatoes with green chiles.  I think that will be a nice counter to the sweetness and heaviness.

Will I do this again?  Yes, but with many adjustments to the seasoning.  I've seen recipes use half maple syrup and half molasses, or all maple syrup, and will try that the next time.  I will add more onion and/or garlic, and maybe more mustard (but not if I use all maple syrup), and some ground pepper.  I might do it in my crockpot instead of the oven, as that limited what else I could do in terms of cooking today.  I've been doing roasted brussels sprouts a lot, and also a modified version of British jacket potatoes (partly cook in microwave, finish in very hot oven), and those are yummy.

Resolution Check-in

While I am here, an update on my resolution for January:  Finish Scarves.  I have finished four of the ones I listed:

• Browns - Bernat Super Value Stripes in Beechwood, knit, and Caron Jumbo in Chocolate Variegated crocheted on the sides.
• Patons Lace in lavender and Porcelain.
• Red Heart Fleece Hugs in Jungle.
• Stitch Studio Sweet Dreams in Creamsicle.

I have also made progress on the crocheted one from leftover Ferris Wheel from my grandmother's Christmas vest.  The other two from my original list are pending, as they are not in my current possession:

• Premiere Serenity Chunky Big Ombre in Walnut - in Plano, waiting for my next theater trip, which happens at the end of this month.
• Caron Chunky Cakes in Trifle (red/white/blue) - at my parents', and I will get it next weekend when I am there for the opera.

Unfortunately, the list has grown longer by two, as I found them whilst doing other things:

• Crocheted in Patons Lace in Woodrose (and I have to figure out the pattern).
• Knit in a slip-stitch pattern of Big Twist Premium in Peacock Stripes.

Right now I am working on my niece's mittens and scarf.  I've restarted the mittens and adjusted the pattern for gauge, as I need to use the washable yarn I have and they were coming out huge even though it's a worsted yarn, just not the one the designer used.

Playoffs resulted in the KC Chiefs against the SF 49ers for Superbowl LIV in Miami.  As a lifelong (and fourth-generation) Chicago Bears fan, I am glad the Packers didn't make it.