Beans, beans are good for your heart

Celebrations!

Birthdays, anniversaries, house-warmings, weddings, team victories; all those events that we can’t wait to get to.

And the celebration that teachers enjoy the most – the end of the school year!

Yeah, kids like that one, too.

The second last weekend of June is the perfect time for a baseball party to celebrate surviving another school year. You get to hit that ball (sometimes), run around the bases (with help from some of your friends), and slide into home plate (rarely). The highlight? Walking home from the diamond to some Triple B in the backyard – beans, burgers and beer.

At the last "end of school" baseball party before I retired, I watched my teacher friends eat the beans the same way as always – taking seconds, thirds, and scraping the roaster. Laughing about the game, telling stories about the school year, and beginning the wind down to summer holidays made for wonderful memories, and great photo ops. We relaxed and celebrated before leaving each other for the summer; and we were reminded of the support, the encouragement and the genuine care that helped us through another school year. For me, a career.

 I think that what we really celebrated was friendship, that singular bond that lasts for years.

Here's the bean recipe that my buddies either finished off at the baseball parties, or took home in empty sour cream containers from the bottom kitchen drawer. I got this recipe almost 20 years ago, from Joan Kendal, a generous and kind “ole timer” from ranching country southwest of Calgary.

Joan Kendal’s Baked Beans           Serves 30 -40

2   1.36 litre cans beans ( I use Heinz Deep-Browned Beans with Pork and Tomato Sauce)

3 Tbsps. Worcestershire Sauce

¼ cup brown sugar

1 cup ketchup

2 large onions, chopped

½ lb. bacon, chopped, fried, and drained

12 oz. ( about 350 ml) can drained pineapple tidbits ***save the juice

½ cup cooking molasses

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix all the ingredients, except the pineapple juice,  together in a large roaster. Cover tightly. Bake about 3 – 3 ½  hours, stirring occasionally during baking. Add the pineapple juice if necessary, especially during re-heating.

The beans will continue to bake after you remove them from the oven. They should still be slightly runny when removed from the oven.

Easy easy peasy.....

At my last party, I put the beans in a slow cooker to stay warm – they REALLY firmed up. If you want to try this, add extra pineapple juice, and check on the beans frequently.

However, next time, I’m just going to leave the beans in the roaster;  they stay hot for quite a while if I’ve just cooked them that day. The other benefit of cooking them the same day is that they’re in the oven early, no last minute preparation for those guys, and the house smells oh so mouth-watering homey.

In the meantime,  beans are wonderfully nutritious; they're high in fibre and iron, low in saturated fat and a good alternative to meat. However, they can be difficult to digest. Friends and family who are grieving, or under a lot of stress, often have digestive systems that are a bit compromised; it's probably better to save the beans for sharing at potlucks, and fun celebrations. Because, beans beans are good for your heart; the more you eat....

Warmly,

Wendy

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