You simply must get a bean pot! This is the new cookery item. I actually got mine when this cashier broke the one that I wanted. When he dropped it at the check out line, I went back to get the more expensive one, and he charged me the cheaper price, which I was thrilled about…long story now done.

My bean pot is an oven clay deal. It’s nondescript, and would make a nice planter, lamp, or catch-all. It’s a nice shade of muddy brown, with two handles on the side and a lid. Love the bean pot.

First recipe I tried in it was a bean recipe to absolutely die for. You take soaked and boiled beans with their water and you add seven strips of uncooked bacon, a cup of maple syrup, a 1/2 cup of ketchup, 1/4 cup of mustard, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, pepper, a teaspoon of ginger and a 1/2 teaspoon of all spice. Yum, and I don’t like baked beans.

Tonight’s little recipe is a stew in the bean pot. I browned 1.5 lbs of stew meat in a tablespoon of butter. I added potatoes, last night’s sweet carrots, and barbecue spices, garlic salt, ketchup, mustard, red wine, and then I added some of the beans from last night and a raw onion and went from the frying browning pan into the pot and then into the oven. Smells divine!

I will serve it with some of my homemade hamburger buns on some left over rice. Should be a delicious meal.

What I like most about the pot is that it cooks and conserves the liquid. That means a healthy alternative to grilling or frying.

Cooking for long periods is nice when you have the time. Makes the house smell good and it doesn’t have to be done at the last minute.

Buy a bean pot; you will be glad you did!