Barbeque Baked Beans in a Bread Bowl

I’m eating the most wonderful Barbeque Baked Beans right now for lunch. At my desk, at work, after taking pictures of it in my office. Again, I ask myself, is this what my life has come to? I served myself the beans in a bread bowl made out of the Anadama Sandwich Rolls I made earlier in the week . Anadama Bread + Baked Beans = Wonderful.

I didn’t mention in my original post that I made the Anadama Bread vegan by using shortening instead of butter. I made the Barbequed Baked  Beans for Vegan Tuesday because I had all the ingredients on hand.  I had to bust out my slow cooker which I haven’t used in ages. Really. I think the last time I used was 8 years ago.

The recipe, which comes from the May/June 2009  issue of Vegetarian Times, is great because you just throw in all the ingredients in the slow cooker before you go to bed and it’s ready in the morning. Well, once you soak the beans for 6 hours and then cook them on the stove for 40 minutes. So, once you do that you’re all set to go. 😛 I used kidney beans instead of navy beans because that is what I had. I also didn’t add the liquid smoke because I don’t have any. You could also speed things up by using three 15-ounce cans of beans instead of making your own.

Barbeque Baked Beans

Adapted from Vegetarian Times

• 1 1/2 cups dry kidney beans, rinsed
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 6 tablespoons ketchup
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

1. Soak beans for 6 hours or overnight.
2. Drain beans and place in large saucepan. Cover with water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes until beans are just about tender. Add a few pinches of salt and simmer for 10 minutes more until tender. Drain, reserving 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid.
3. Transfer beans to slow cooker and stir in onions. In a small bowl mix ketchup, brown sugar, maple syrup, mustard, and oil. Stir into slow cooker.  Cover, and cook 6 hours or overnight on low. Season with salt and pepper.

I also made a Mango-Cashew Smoothie. Why is my mango smoothie green? Well, because it has Hemp Protein Powder in it. Hemp Protein apparently has the most complete amino-acid profiles of any plant-based protein. I’ve had unused hemp protein powder in my refrigerator since last summer when I tried to do a 12-day cleanse/fast with disasterous results. I never got to the stage to use the powder because I found out my body is very addicted to caffeine when I woke up on Day 4.

The recipe comes from Brendan Brazier’s Thrive in 30 program. He is a mega tri-athelete who adovates a raw/vegan lifestyle. The Thrive in 30 is a free online program based on his book, Thrive.

Anyway, I wouldn’t say the smoothie is delicious. It actually tastes very healthy. Really, too healthy. If you want to try it, you can find the recipe HERE.

Michele of Veggie Num Nums made vegan portobello pockets. Check them out HERE.