Maple Rum Baked Beans

2 C Dried Navy Beans

2 Tsp Sesame Oil -- *NOTE, dark

1 Sm Onion -- peeled

1 C Maple Syrup -- pure

1/4 C Dark Rum -- **NOTE

2 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Dry Mustard

*NOTE: Original recipe used 2 T dark sesame oil.

**NOTE: Omit the rum if you prefer, but it lends a rich flavor. What I did since I didn't have any rum was to use 2 t rum extract - it was really good.

Soak beans in water to cover 8 hrs or overnight.

Preheat oven to 300 deg F. Drain beans, rinse and add to a heavy kettle with 6 C fresh water. Bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer 10 min. Drain beans, reserving cooking water.

Place beans in bean pot or ovenproof casserole; mix with sesame oil. Place onion in center of pot. In small bowl, mix maple syrup, rum, salt, dry mustard and 1/2 C reserved bean liquid. Pour mixture over beans. Add just enough bean liquid to cover beans. Cover pot; bake 2 hrs.

Add remaining bean liquid. Stir well; bake until beans are soft and liquid is nearly absorbed, 1 1/2 - 2 hrs more. Add water as needed. Uncover casserole during the last 30 min of bakng. Serve hot.

Makes 8 side dish servings or 6 as a main dish.

Helpful Hints: To prepare beans in a slow cooker, simmer soaked beans in 6 C water in saucpan until beans are tender, 40 - 60 min. Drain, reserving cookign liquid. Add beans to slow cooker with 1/2 C reserved bean cooking liquid, copped onion and remaining ingredients. Cook on high 5 - 6 hrs, or low 10 - 12 hrs.

Try soaking beans using the quick soak method. Cover beans with 6 C water in a heavy pot, bring to a boil, boil gently 2 min, turn off heat, cover and let stand 1 hr. Drain; proceed with recipe.

Entered into MasterCook II and tested for you by Reggie Dwork reggie@reggie.com