Baked Beans with Irish Soda Bread

Baked Beans:

We really like this version of home-made baked beans. There is a little advance preparation involved though, in that the navy beans need to soak overnight. Typically, I soak about 3 cups of beans in a large bowl. The following morning, I then cook the beans in a pressure cooker. Alternatively you can skip this part and just assemble the recipe below in a slow cooker and cook the beans for 8-10 hours.

The sauce is as follows:

1 onion diced, 2 tablespoons white vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 6 ounce can tomato paste, 4 tablespoons ketchup, 1/4 cup margarine, 2 tablespoons molasses.

Into a large rectangular baking dish (9x13), sprayed with oil, I place the diced onion and then the drained beans. In a small bowl I combine all of the remaining ingredients except the molasses. I pour this over the beans and then using some of the cooking water from the pressure cooker, I pour approximately 2 cups over the beans stirring to thin the sauce and to ensure an even distribution of sauce and beans. Finally, I drizzle the molasses on top and mix in slightly (I like the taste of molasses and it darkens the sauce a little.)

Bake in a medium -low temperature oven for 30 minutes (or less...remember the beans are already cooked).

Tonight I am serving with Irish Soda Bread; recipe courtesy of The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups nondairy milk
2 tsp white distilled vinegar
4 cups unbleached flour (or 2 cups unbleached + 2 cups whole wheat)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup non-hydrogenated nondairy butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit; lightly grease a 9 to 10 inch cake pan. Combine milk and vinegar and let stand 5 to 10 minutes to curdle. In large bowl, mix flour(s), baking soda and salt. Add milk and vinegar and melted butter. Combine into sticky dough. You can turn this out onto a floured board and knead approximately 12 fold overs. Place dough in prepared pan and slice a cross onto the surface. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Bread should have a hollow sound when thumped. Cool slightly before serving. (Bread will be good for 2 to 3 days...but it won't last that long. Tastes great toasted too!)

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