Maple Baked Beans

I simply could not title this post “Pork and Beans” but that is what Lily wanted to make for my birthday this year. She was kindly remembering my story about how I wanted to eat Pork and Beans every year on my birthday. It was a favourite meal of mine while I was growing up but the idea of canned beans with cut up hot dogs frankly sickens me now.

Regardless, I started to wonder if I could make an updated version of this meal that we could all stomach- even Cam who gets the sweats just thinking about eating pork. The plan all came together when I bought some local bacon and the whole meal was a huge hit with everyone, especially Cam. Local meat is much more appetising then the alternative. I served these beans with some fried poppadoms. Here’s what I did:

Maple Baked Beans

• 1 pound dried Navy Beans (about 2- 2 1/2 cups)
• 2 tbsp Demerara Sugar
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
• 2 tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 2 tbsp Molasses
• 1/4 cup Tomato Sauce
• 1/2 cup Maple Syrup
• 1/8 cup Quinoa Flakes (optional)
• 2 thick or 4 regular strips Bacon, cut in 1/4 inch pieces

1. In a large bowl, cover the beans with at least 3 inches of water and set aside overnight. The next day I cooked the beans in my pressure cooker for 8 minutes. On the stove top it will take about 1 1/2- 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 300’F.
3. In a large casserole dish, combine the sugar, salt, pepper, mustard, molasses, tomato sauce, maple syrup and quinoa flakes. Add the beans and then stir in the bacon. Add just enough water to cover everything. Cover the pot with aluminium foil, then a lid. Bake for 5 hours, checking hourly to make sure the beans aren’t drying out. (Add more water as necessary to keep them submerged.) Uncover for the last half hour to brown the top, if desired.