"BakedBeans" news and stories

Cold spring rolls. Photo: YumSugar.

Each Thursday, we round up a selection of scrumptious links from our friends over at YumSugar. Here's what they've got cooking this week:

Cold spring rolls might seem fancy, but they're actually a quick and easy treat.

Cat Cora's baked beans mixes chickpeas, kidney beans and pinto beans.

Coffee is good for a whole lot more than drinking -- java can perk up many a dish.

A look at Paula Deen's uncomfortable visit to "The View" and Barbara Walters' loaded health question.

Figs in a Blanket is a "killer appetizer."

Do you prefer the grocery store or farmers' market?

Black baked beans. Photo: Jennifer Iserloh.

Beans are one of the foods I crave. No matter if it's black bean soup with tons of fresh lime, refried beans, chili or summer barbecues -- I make a beeline to the baked beans.

I have a passion for Moros y Cristianos, gorgeous black beans and rice cooked with green peppers, fresh cilantro, savory spices and a little ham. I treat myself to this whenever I visit the very authentic Cuban restaurant, La Isla, in Hoboken, N.J.

My version of black baked beans is a nod to some of the flavors you'll find in a plate of their moros. The recipe is after the jump.

I'm very familiar with baked beans, being from Boston and all, and I think they're one of the great foods. They're tasty, healthy, and filling. They're light enough for a quick summer meal yet at the same time hearty enough for a cold winter night (especially if you eat it with some nice crusty bread).

July is National Baked Bean Month, and after the jump, a couple of recipes, including one from me that's very quick and easy but one I think you'll like.

Wow, there's a headline I never thought I'd write.

Actor Hugh Grant was arrested in London yesterday for allegedly throwing a plastic tub filled with baked beans at photographer Ian Whittaker. Whittaker says that Grant also kicked him and yelled at him before he threw the beans at him.

A plastic container filled with baked beans? This could have been much worse. He could have thrown cans filled with beans at the photographer, or glass jars filled with tomato sauces or pickles, or maybe even cling peaches...in heavy syrup.

Grant was released on bail and no charges have been filed.

Who doesn't love baked beans? I always have a couple of cans in my cupboard, ready to mix with weiners for a retro protein-packed snack. When I planned for slow cooking day, baked beans was my first thought. Nothing is more quintessentially American or (let's be honest here) easier.

I've tried to make baked beans before, and gotten frustrated with the long cooking time. Not this weekend. I started composing my soul of slow cooking post and got into a zen cooking space. I looked up at least five recipes, and they were all almost exactly the same - all started with two cups of navy beans (or, variously, "Great Northern" or "Michigan Navy" beans, which are almost the same thing), 5-6 cups of water, onion, bacon or salt pork, molasses, ginger, mustard and salt.

There were variations, of course; a little Worchestershire Sauce here, a little ketchup there. I ended up using the recipe for Boston Baked Beans from The Gourmet Slow Cooker, by Lynn Alley. It turned out fabulously, and I have only one piece of advice: cook it for a really, really long time! I cooked mine in an oven, for at least eight hours. It was delicious and so flavorful.