Bean Hole Bean Eve

This weekend was the first Bean Hole Bean Day at Race Point. What none of us realized as we were planning our Bean Hole Bean Day is that it requires a Bean Hole Bean Eve, which was perhaps one of the best parts of Bean Hole Bean Day. We arrived late afternoon, Rafi, Cecilia, Elisabeth, Jake and myself. We dug three separate holes for three separate dutch ovens of beans. We scouted the hole locations in preparation for planting apple trees next year, perhaps a walnut tree for my grandchildren. We then brought a wagon down to the shore to collect two loads of rocks to line the holes with. Large fires were built just as darkness came.

We went inside to create dinner, a vegetable soup from our gardens. We all chatted and cozied and checked the fires. There was knitting and candlelight and handholding. The weather was clear and crisp, warm enough for wool, but not too chilly. After dinner Rafi snuggled with the girl at bedtime and we all went out to watch the progress of the fires in our holes. The glow of three pits of flames from across the landscape was a beautiful sight. We ate chocolate around the holes and as the embers burned down I crept into the cabin to bring the beans up to a boil and to rouse Rafi. We did two pots of meat beans and a pot of vegetarian. They all had molasses, maple syrup, pepper, mustard, onions and a wee garlic in them, each meat pot had half a pound of bacon ends rough chopped as well, we put vegetable shortening and butter into the vegetarian beans. (I think next year the veg beans will get extra molasses and the addition of nutritional yeast). We omitted salt as we were nervous about the beans not getting soft; and the water level was ideally about a quarter inch above our beans.

Hole number 1 was our biggest hole, we put the Marfax beans that Jake had grown (Jake grew all the beans!) into that hole. The Veg beans were a variety of a Maine Yellow Eye and I don't quite remember Bean Hole Number 3's variety, it had a ladies name though and beautiful cranberry and white coloring. We covered each pot with tinfoil before lowering it into it's nest of coals. We then used our shovels to nestle in the pots and push the hot rocks in closer to the bean pots, 2 hot rocks went on the lid of each pot. We then shoveled in dirt by the glow of Lissy's headlamp. We blessed our lovely bean holes, brushed our teeth and migrated down to the Sunshine Cabins along the shore to retire for the evening, it was a lovely evening.

And what happened on Bean Hole Bean Day? I'll fill you in tomorrow!