Getting Back to my Roots :: Baked Beans
On Lisa?s recommendation I recently read Micheal Pollan?s Omnivore?s Dilemma. Actually, I went to check it out of the library, and there was this enormous waiting list, so I decided I?d read Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation first. Fast Food Nation led to The End of Food (Thomas Pawlick), which took up enough time for me to get my hands on Omnivore?s Dilemma. At which point I may have developed a little bitty crush on Michael Pollan for reasons unknown (does that happen to anyone else? They suddenly develop crushes on authors?) and I had to read In Defense of Food, too. And for good measure I read Skinny Bitch.
What was I talking about?
Right, so I?ve read this slew of food books and it has relit a fire under my butt to start making better food choices. Choices that will be better for us in terms of our health, and the health of the environment, because you know, I?m all self-righteous like that.
A lot of people simply assume that I stopped eating meat for animal rights, then are surprised to find out that I?m really not that passionate about animal rights. Don?t get me wrong, I think we should treat ALL living things with respect, and when you do eat a hamburger I think you should respect that it was in fact a cow at one point in its life. Then go ahead and eat the cow. Honestly, eat the cow. I don?t have a problem with the eating of the cow although I would prefer to see you eat a local, organic cow. No, I?m not going to eat the cow because OHMYGOD YOU?RE EATING A COW. Still, I?m ok with it. Honest.
I really am ok with people eating meat, we are omnivores after all. My reasons for becoming vegetarian have always been environmental. I believe as a society we consume way too much meat, and it is a fact that our consumption has had a serious impact on the environment. Every single one of the above mentioned books just made me even more determined not to eat industrially produced meat.
It has also made me question every single food decision I make these days, from crackers to bread to oranges. It would be insane to suddenly go completely local and whole (I?m pretty sure Steve would divorce me if I didn?t keep him in cereal), so gradually, in small baby steps, I?ve been making changes.
The biggest change I?ve made so far is to begin baking our bread. I haven?t bought a loaf of bread since March and I?m pretty darn proud of that and I’m just going to ignore the fact that Steve keeps a loaf of store-bought bread at work (wimp!). Since then I?ve been testing out recipes for crackers, hamburger buns and bagels, but haven?t found a solid recipe that makes everyone happy and consistently produces the same results. I’m not entirely sure if I ever will, we’ll see.
I am also trying to ban all fast food franchises, but Tim Horton’s puts crack in their coffee, and I am weak. So very, very weak. And I didn’t realize how difficult that ban would be with kids because it is so much easier to just buy some fries than it is to put together a lunch when you’re running some errands…
But hands down the craziest (stupidest, completely insane) decision I made was opting not to buy baked beans because I thought, hey! I?m clever! I can bake beans! I?m like, Super Homemaker! I can do anything!
And I did it, I baked beans.
And for the 8+ hours that took I repeatedly said aloud to no one in particular ?Why the hell didn’t I just buy the damn can?? because seriously, baking beans is taking slow food to a whole new level. Not that it was hard, it wasn’t, but crap was it time consuming with the soaking, and the simmering, and the crock-potting. They should be charging $10/can just to make up for the energy costs in production!
I took a picture of a crockpot of beans. I need help.
9 Responses to “Getting Back to my Roots :: Baked Beans”
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Hahahahahaha, 10 hours for some baked beans? Oh my god, how did our ancestors do this kind of thing day in and day out? JEEBUS!
My maximum on any meal preparation is 3 hours, and that’s for THANKSGIVING (not counting the turkey, of course).
Impressed about the bread, though. Brian would LOVE you. He’s a bread fiend. I have a breadmaker and he goes apeshit when I use it. But I have a feeling you don’t have a breadmaker and were referring to kneading and cooking the whole thing from scratch yourself.
I’ve been making a lot of stuff from scratch lately (chicken tenders, lemonade, mac & cheese, etc.) but not because of any environmental or health reason. Just because they taste so much better. LOL!
I’m pretty sure that I told you to read The Omnivore’s Dilemma at some point, too.
Personally I think you should read The 100 Mile Diet, if you haven’t already. Tho you are much better than me about implementing all these changes…I don’t think I’d ever make my own crackers. 
You are allowed to be self-righteous when you make your own crakers.
I think Michelle’s comment above should be your new tagline and/or motto.
I would love to read these books. I’m also scared to, at the same time. You are really really good at making small changes a bit at a time, whereas I … I feel like if I can’t fix EVERYTHING I may as well fix NOTHING and so I throw my hands in the air and head back to the big-box store to buy my mass-produced foods from God knows where.
Also, do you have any advice for people who would like their food choices to be more eco-friendly, but who genuinely do NOT have the time to make their own bread, etc?
Oh–I’ve been wanting to read Pollan’s new book… I’ve been kind of scared to read Fast Food Nation, although I swore off fast food a few years ago after seeing the movie/documentary Supersize Me.
I have the exact same reasoning for being anti-meat as you…. I’ve cut my meat consumption by maybe 30%, still find it kind of a struggle to learn meals that are meatless and good.
I agree – you can be as self righteous as you want if you make your own crackers.
You are my bread hero! And those beans look darn good. How do you find the energy / time?? I started 100 Mile Diet ages ago and am still on chapter 2.
Fear – you probably did, I probably promptly forgot
. Lisa had it on her blog, and I was sitting at the computer so I just put my name on the waiting list at the library…
. Pipers Meats is awesome, eh?!
Laura – email sent
Maria – I’m at home, all day, at least once a week, often twice a week, when Steve takes the car rather than the truck to work. Being at home as opposed to errand-running, taking the kids to playgroup etc makes a difference. And I have my Mom nearby (who until recently wasn’t working) so I get a lot of help/inspiration from her. And like I’ve said before, my house? Not clean.
I loved the baked beans. My next batch will have tomato sauce or barbecue sauce as well as the staples. I would love a crock pot that turned off, so that I don’t burn them. I was too cheap to buy the one with a timer way back when.
Hey, I bought whole wheat sour dough bread from the farmer’s market…. really good!! Baked at a bakery on Rutherford Road. I will try and find it, as it sounds like they are trying to be organic and local I think.
I bet they were gooooood beans though!
You’re my hero. I think I counted 4 meals in a row that came out of a box/can/bag once. I need help too–but on the other side of the spectrum.