Homespun Baked Beans

It all started with the Indians who taught early colonists how to use bean pots and to depend on slow and easy cooking. Baked beans rate as a hearty farm treat that men and boys especially like. Sometimes country women open cans of baked beans from supermarkets and add their own touches. On other occasions, they make up the traditional recipes and freeze the surplus for quick heating in the future. A combination of several kinds of canned beans results in another type of dish that’s especially popular along the West Coast—Western Baked Beans. These get a big hand at community suppers. The recipe comes from Washington State.