Beans are for lovers

This is how we celebrated entering Japan’s Inland Sea after crossing from Korea: beans, beer and bannock, the three magical B’s. They weren’t our Boat Show Beans, they came from a can, but we enjoyed them anyway.

Honestly. We really have been working 24-7… well, close anyway… for weeks and weeks to get our 2017 Salish Sea cruising guides ready in time for a boat show we plan to enter this year, so we have been horrible about blogging.

What better way to make amends than to share a romantic bean recipe. Romantic because there is no better unspoken way to tell your partner that you love them than to share a big pot of beans before spending a night or two together on a small boat. (Of course, buying them some nice jewelry comes close.)

In the off-season, when the last thing you want to do when underway is prepare something from scratch in the galley, cooking up a big pot of beans before you set off will provide the crew with hot, filling meals that are quick and easy.

This recipe has lots of options. It is sugar-free in deference to Jim’s decision four years ago to eliminate added sugar from his diet. The apple sauce does provide plenty of sweetening, but feel free to substitute the apple sauce with a quarter to a half cup brown sugar if you prefer.

This recipe has been nameless until now, known on our boat where we live as “our beans”. However, with regard to the time of year we have chosen to share it with you and to a topic that has been on our mind, we have elected to royally dub our beans…

Boat Show Beans

• 3 cans beans (pinto, black, mixed) drained and rinsed
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 x 6 oz. cans tomato paste
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 2/3 cup apple sauce
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp cider vinegar
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1-2 tsp cayenne (depending on how much spice you like in your life)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• Saute onion in oil. Add the rest and simmer on the stove top, stirring often. Add chunks of ham, browned Italian sausage or slices of weiners. Pineapple chunks add a sweet touch.

Delicious served with rice or roasted winter vegetables on the side, and a dark beer to wash it down!