Ah, the beans were a great success. Rosalind even had two portions. John G (her ex) said they were good but he wasn’t sure why they had to have been cooking for 8 hours. Made the whole flat smell of molasses though which on the whole was a good thing. It was pelting with rain all day and we were all very jaded after a late night carousing at the Eurovision party. We spent our time lying on the floor gazing at the television or standing in the kitchen grazing on all manner of comfort food.
Walnut Whips were in evidence as were onion and goats cheese tarts from Marks and Spencer and some miniature onion bhajis (as Rosalind pointed out as the oven was “on” we might as well have some snacks to keep us going). To sip throughout the day Rosalind invented what she called “White Trash Pimms” which involved sherry, lemonade and mint. I can’t remember the last Sunday I managed to pack away so much grub and booze. Mourning the end of my romance with salty snacks and sweet alcoholic beverages I suppose.
When the beans were ready we had them with fresh Lincolnshire asparagus (from Berwick Street market – big bunch for a pound) and Lincolnshire sausages. Although the original Rosalind Russell hails from Connecticut, mine is from the lovely English county of Lincolnshire – hence the county based foodstuffs. The beans were sweet and perfectly cooked and although the bacon had shrivelled up to a shadow of its former porky self it added to the general flavour. The film was enjoyed by all even though the pair of them were snoozing half way through like two old folks in the retirement home. It was a proper lazy Sunday with a proper beanfeast.
15 minutes after going to bed Rosalind popped her head around the door to report that it was “blowing a gale” in her bedroom. I know exactly what she meant…
The bean baton now passes to the Frickster – get cooking baby!
Bette Davis’ Boston Baked Beans
1 quart pea beans (in the UK the best bean to go for is the haricot – about 900g)
½ pound/225g fat salt pork
2 teaspoons salt
½ cup/160g molasses
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 cup/235ml boiling water
1st step: Wash beans and allow them to soak overnight in cold water to cover. 2nd step: In the morning, drain and cover with fresh water. Cook slowly – just below the boiling point – until skins will burst. (This is determined by taking a few beans on a spoon and blowing on them gently. When skins of these beans will break and curl back then the rest of the beans are sufficiently cooked.) 3rd step: Fill bean pot with cooked beans. Some people also like to add a small onion, minced fine, at this point. Pour boiling water over the salt pork, scrape the rind until it is white, then score deeply at half-inch intervals. Press pork down into beans so that only the rind is exposed. Combine salt, molasses, and mustard. Add the boiling water. Pour this mixture over the beans and add enough water so that beans are just covered. Cover bean pot tightly and bake beans in slow oven (300 degrees F / 150 degrees C) for eight hours. If necessary, add a little water (boiling) during the baking period so that the beans will not get too dry. Uncover pot during last hour to brown the pork. Serve in the pot in which they were cooked.
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