Recipe Thursday - Baked Beans

I have made baked beans in years and thought it would be a good dish for my vegetarian son.  On Saturday night after the water softener had run, I set my beans to soak.  Left them overnight, and boiled them the next morning.  After and hour in the pot they were still hard, but I knew they would be in the oven for about four hours, so let it go.  Well, after all that additional time in the oven, they were still like little marbles.  eeks.  The flavour was good, but the crunchiness was just plain wrong.

This has happened to me before and the beans were just as inedible.

Shopping time.  I bought bottled water and a new bag of beans and began again.  After soaking overnight, the beans even looked better. Bigger.  Then I boiled them for an hour and the beans were tender this time.  The final beans were terrific.  I managed to grab this last dish of them for a photo.  In fact, it was really hard to get a picture of them.  Too many reflective surfaces and the camera has a hard time deciding which point to focus on. 

Why were my beans hard?  I did some research and it has to do with the hardness of the water, the calcium goes into the skin of the bean and hardens it.  This stops the water from reaching the inside of the bean and allowing it to soften.  The solution is to use bottled water.  You can instead add an 1/8 of a teaspoon of baking soda to the soaking and cooking water, but I didn't like that option.  Supposedly that diminishes the nutrients of the dish.

Baked Beans

2 cups dried navy beans

1 fist sized onion, chopped
1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tbsp dark honey

Put the beans in a large dish, cover with lots of water and let them soak overnight.
In the morning, strain off the old water and pour the beans into a large pot.  Fill with fresh water.  Bring to a boil and simmer for one hour.  The beans should be fairly soft.  If they are hard like marbles, don't proceed, start with fresh beans and bottled water.

Into the bean pot put: onions, ketchup, brown sugar, molasses, honey and spice.  Stir and then add the drained, cooked beans.  Add enough fresh water to bring the liquid level to the top of the beans.

Bake covered in a 300 F. over for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until tender.  Add more water as required.

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads.  Visit to find a list of links to food related posts.  You are invited to add your current post to the list.

Last Orders by Graham Swift

Jack Dodds passed away shortly after closing his family butcher shop.  Today is the day appointed for dispersing his ashes, and his son and friends have gathered.  If they had awaken this morning thinking that it would be an easy task, just open the jar and pour, then they were mistaken.

While his son Vince, and his friends Ray, Lenny and Vic are on their way to the seaside, his wife Amy is visiting their daughter June to break the news to her.

This day, meant to honour Jack, turns out to be one of deep reflection and soul searching for each of the people involved.  Over the years their lives had become so entwined that a simple good-bye wasn't enough.  it had to be more, much more.

At first I was a bit confused of who all these people were, but as I continued listening it became clear.  They were clearly grieving, not only for Jack's death, but also for events past and for events that could have been.

I particularly liked Ray's story.  During the course of the War, he and Jack has saved each others lives and become like brothers.  That bond had never been broken even if they didn't wear it on their sleeves every day.

This audio book features a full cast of characters/voices.  I found that this really enhanced the story telling. 

HighBridge Audio
read by: Simon Prebble, Gigi Marceau Clark, Jenny Sterlin, Ian Stewart, Gerard Doyle, Simon Jones, and Domonick Hawksley

Winner of the 1996 Man Booker Prize for Fiction
Winner of the 1996 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction


Thanks to Random House Canada for the cover photo.

This is my 21 book for the Read, Remember, Recommend challenge hosted by Bibliobabe.  Visit her site for a list of books and their reviews by all participants.

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

Fictional author Carolyn McClelland has travelled to Scotland to continue her research for her newest novel.  While there, she feels oddly compelled to  remain in Cruden Bay, the site of the now ruined Slains Castle.  As she continues to research her characters and location, so finds herself being pulled into the real lives of her characters, people that she thought she was making up.  Turns out they are all real.

By the time I was turning the first page of this book, ready to start page two, I was totally drawn into the story.  They wasn't a chance that I would be able to set it aside for long.  The story is set in a rural area of Scotland and the our main character is already admitting that something, or someone is guiding her almost from the moment she arrived.  There was no doubt that I would have to keep reading.

As fictional author Carolyn sat to write, it seemed to her that the story kept telling itself to her.  That it knew what needed to be written and that she had no say.   I had no trouble believing that.  I have sat down to write and my characters have told me what I had to do with them.  Why would it be any different with this author. 

Author Susanna Kearsley made both worlds real to me.  The current day in Scotland and the long ago 1700's were both so vivid that at times I forgot I was reading fiction and I could feel myself living with Carolyn, Jimmy, Grahme, and with the older Sophie, and other visitors to Slains Castle.

Yes, this book has romance, but it has a lot more.  It is full of historical characters who are a lot more than faded images in history books.  Ms. Kearsley has brought them to life once again.  If only I had been lucky enough to have had a history teacher in school who could have brought historical figures to life such as this.

I especially enjoyed the character of modern time Dr. Weir and his research into genetic memories.   I have come across similar discussions previously and found it an excellent rational for what was happening with Carolyn.

The Darien Expedition/Scheme discussed in the book is a real event.  Click here for further information.

I am definitely looking forward to reading further books by author Susanne Kearsley



Susanna Kearsley's website.

Photo Credit aerial view of Slains Castle- Pierre Lesage 

Further information about Slains Castle can be found at Undiscovered Scotland.

Thanks to SourceBooks for my review copy.

Needlework Tuesday - Tag Team Knitting

Back in September of 2009 I told you about the pattern I had purchased to make a scarf for my son.  It's called the Groovy Scarf and it's by Iwona, a designer in Toronto, Ontario.  My niece wanted to knit a scarf when she arrived here in June and I pulled that pattern out for her.  She loved it.  When we were planning a scarf for her mother, the same pattern came to mind, only this time we worked together to knit it.  I knit the purple mesh and both of us knit the green strips.  Even though our tensions are way different, it didn't really matter.  We even switched part way through the green strips and would work each other's piece.  You can't tell in the end once they are woven into the mesh.  My son's is the red, white and black scarf, Michelle's is the black and blues scarf, and her mother's will be the purple and greens scarf.  Same pattern yet they give such a different impression.

What good is a scarf without a hat.

In January of 2010 I showed you the little green hat I knit.  It's from a free pattern by Bernat.  Bernat Satin Cable Hat.  I have to admit that I found the hat just too small.  I had even knit it on 5.5mm needles instead of the required 5mm.  I adjusted the pattern this time in the following manner.  Cast on 86 stitches,  on the sixth row increase to 98 stitches.  Repeat the cable pattern 4 1/2 times instead of 3 1/2 times.  Then follow the decrease rows as written, you will need to add a knit 2 together at the end of the rows where that doesn't naturally occur.  The orange hat and the purple hat in the following picture were knit with the increased number of stitches.  No worries about running out of yarn.  The ball weights 100grams and the finished hat is about 60 grams.  That means you can also knit the hat using the variegated Satin, that ball is only 80 grams.  Visit next week and you'll see my variegated hat. 

Michelle is modelling the hat and scarf for her mother.  My daughter is modelling the orange hat for Michelle's friend Laura, and the scarf I made for daughter some time ago out of a really funky yarn.  Wish that one hadn't been dis-continued.

I really do keep my house warmer than would be suggested by this picture.  They are all bundled up for their view of the new season of Jersey Shores.

I have been doing some sewing, but the finished items went right into my niece's luggage without me taking a photo.  I am working on more of the same for her, and will be sure to take a pic before those ones go in the box with the hat and scarf for mailing.

Glazed Murder: A Donut Shop Mystery by Jessica Beck

After her divorce from Max, Suzanne Hart buys a donut shop and renames it Donut Heart.  All is going well and she is developing a loyal core of customers, when early one morning she watches as a body is dumped in front of her shop.  It's one of those loyal customers and she is left wondering if she will be the next victim.

Suzanne is determined to find out who killed her friend, before the killer finds her.

This was a fun holiday read.  One thing I have never made is a donut.  I admit to being kind of afraid of huge pots of almost boiling oil.  It was interesting to learn a bit about the process involved first in making donuts and then to running the shop.  There are eleven yummy sounding recipes included in the book, most of them for donuts.  I am looking forward to trying the recipe for the baked donuts.

There were two things that bugged me about the story.  Suzanne claims that the victim Patrick Blaine is her friend, but we don't learn anything other than he was a customer of hers.  The other is that she jumps right into investigating his death almost without any pushing or threat to her.  I wish we had learned more about their friendship, such as they played cards together, or that they discussed books whenever  Patrick was in the shop.  A few menacing phone or text messages or even the passing of a bit of time before she started investigating would have made more sense to me, but Suzanne didn't wait at all.  She just finished her shift and started asking questions.

From that point, the story got better.  We were introduced to her friends and to the busy body in the shop next door.  I like the owner of Re-Newed, she would be fun to have tea with.  

Author Jessica Beck has introduced us to an interesting set of characters.  I do look forward to reading more about them in her upcoming books: Fatally Frosted and Sinister Sprinkles.

Thanks to Meagan of Snippets & Yarns from Turtle Bottom for sending me this fun book.

Also reviewed at:

This and That. Here and There. Now, Sometimes, Then.

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads.  You are invited to add a link to your food related post.

Foodie's Reading Challenge is hosted by Margot of Joyfully Retired.  You are invited to join the challenge by reading food related materials in the form of: cookbooks, novels, memoirs/biographies, and non-fiction.  Visit the site for full details.  Challenge starts January 2011 and continues throughout the year.

Visit my New Blog

Along with my sister, I have started a new blog. Send a Postcard a Week.  Don't worry, I will continue to do this one as well. 

The premise to for both of us to send out at least one postcard each week.  I could be to a family member, friend, or even a stranger.   Regardless of who we send to, it is bound to brighten their day. 

You are invited to join us in our adventure and send out your own postcards and let us know.  You can join our blog, or you can leave details in the comments.

Hope that you will visit us a Send a Postcard a Week.  Leave a comment and tell us who you would send a postcard to.

Remembering Babylon by David Malouf

 Gemmy Fairley had been working as a ship hand when he became ill and feverish.  His shipmates put him adrift on a raft rather than risk the health of the whole crew.  Fortunately for Gemmy, the raft washed ashore on a desolate area of Australia.  He was found by aborigines who he lived with for the next sixteen years. 

One day while wondering with them, he spied some white men, whom he later sought out.  A family in the new community took him in and tried to help him re-integrate into English style daily life.  He had lost much of his earlier language skills and found it difficult to communicate.

What was happening with Gemmy was similar to what was happening with the English colonists.  Both were out of their element and trying to fit their old lives into their current location.  Gemmy had never had a 'good' nor 'safe' life and he didn't have the skills of how to live in a proper family.  The colonists were trying to recreate an English pastoral life in a totally foreign environment that was often hostile to their attempts.

I most enjoyed reading of Gemmy's life and his attempts to fit in anywhere.  He didn't find a safe place in England, not on the ship and even with the aborigines he was always an outsider.  He wasn't either a white fellow or a black fellow, he was something else.  I think perhaps that he was a lot of what was needed to for the transplanted English to survive in Australia, but that the whites refused to even consider the possibility.

Winner the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 1996

Winner the Los Angeles Times Award for Fiction 1994

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 1993

This is my 19th novel for the Read, Remember, Recommend Fiction Challenge hosted by Bibliobabe.