Tag Archives: baked beans

By the time Attila has a day off work we have a lot of catching up to do on the domestic front.

The temperature has been just above freezing for the last few days! Yesterday Attila spent his day off work shovelling snow, and lots of it. It snowed all morning as he worked. All the snow on the south facing roof came down yesterday morning, with a thunderous, house-shaking crash. The north facing roof still carries the full winter load of snow, and will probably not release it during this thaw.

Sunday’s are special! Attila had all this snow to play with! It was the second half of the snow from the southern side of roof. He needed the metal shovel to break the compacted snow bank (almost an ice bank) so that he could shovel it all off the deck.

The load of snow from the roof spread considerably when it came down, blocking the walking path to the house and the woodshed. By mid-afternoon Attila had the yard ship-shape again. He noted that with this last “shedding” some damage was done to the deck railing, which will need to be repaired in the spring.

With the warmer weather comes a reduced need for firewood. Two daily firings in the masonry heater are sufficient to keep the house toasty warm. The weather prediction for the next two weeks is for relatively warm winter temperatures, just below freezing during the day, slightly colder at night. The down side to this balmy forecast is that snow is likely to fall almost every day! Still, with the reduced firewood load, and the snow removal completed for the next little while, Attila is in for some easy days.

Yesterday I made pumpkin squares, or squash squares, we are not really sure which. The pumpkin/squash had been frozen some years ago, and the package was not labelled or dated. The squares were delicious. The squares were beyond resistance, so I persuaded Attila to store the squares that remained in our large refrigerator downstairs. Out of sight, out of mind. The large refrigerator downstairs is the whole downstairs, because we do not heat it. Miraculously it stays above freezing in all but the coldest weather. It is a handy size for a refrigerator!

Beans cooked overnight in the crockpot. This morning they were drained and additional ingredients added to prepare baked beans. The plastic lid to the crockpot broke. The pot was purchased some unknown number of years before 1992, and has been in continuous use since then. Undeterred I experimented with various stainless steel lids from the cookware set, until one was found that fit the crock. There is another large crockpot at the little house in the city, and two smaller, aging crockpots at the country house.

Caveat: Cook beans in a crockpot at your own risk, do it the right way. “Dried beans, especially kidney, contain a natural toxin. These toxins are easily destroyed by boiling. Safe steps for preparing would include soaking the beans for 12 hours, rinsing, and then boiling for at least 10 minutes, before adding the beans to a slow cooker.” University of Minnesota Extension

I have been in the house with Mist for a consecutive sixteen days. We are planning an outing, very exciting! Attila must travel to have a blood test, and hour there and an hour back. This can only be done during working hours, on weekdays. So, he will have to take time off work, and forego his income for those hours. The plan is to choose a weekday that offers clear, dry roads and sunny skies, and to take the afternoon on that elusive perfect day, to have the blood test done, then shop for supplies. Attila is attempting to work extra hours to make up for the time he will need off.

I did not sleep well last night, too many murder mysteries! We watch Midsomer Murders episodes, but what tipped it over the edge for me was watching And Then There Were None, an Agatha Christie film from 1945, which I enjoyed. However, it was too much mayhem for one day.

Worldly Distractions

Weather

4°C
Date: 7:30 PM EST Monday 13 January 2014
Condition: Light Rain
Pressure: 100.1 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: 4.0°C
Dewpoint: 0.2°C
Humidity: 76%
Wind: S 18 km/h

Quote

“To punish me for my contempt for authority, fate made me an authority myself.”
Albert Einstein
1879 – 1955