When things go wrong, they keep going wrong...

[meganjane]

Yesterday, I just shouldn't have cooked anything.

Firstly, my Spelt bread was going beautifully, then I forgot about it after I had put it in the tin and it oozed out down the sides of the tin and onto the bench. It smelt 'alcoholic', so I figured it was ruined and chucked it.

Then I made some more baked beans to have with our Barby Breaky that we're planning for Boxing Day. Well, those little suckers just wouldn't soften. They'd been soaking for two days and cooking for three hours. I got sick of not being about to use Timmy, so I put them in the pressure cooker. They still weren't soft!!  Not to be outdone, I pressure cooked them for a bit longer...and...they caught on the bottom and burned. 

They went into the compost.

I gave up and cleaned the toilet, bathroom, bedrooms and passage way, then had a cup of coffee and opened the chocolates I had bought to share over the Christmas break. I felt much better.

[judydawn]

Funny how we have days like that.  Let's hope all runs smoothly from herein MJ and that your Christmas Day is disaster-free 

[meganjane]

Thanks JD! Today has been so much better, the Spelt Bread is fine and I've made lemon Butter, Craisin Relish and Kiwifruit Chutney. So all is well again!

[pandateddy]

I have had a day like that today with my creme brulee and pavlova attempts. I guess I could try to make lemon butter out of all the egg yolks I now have leftover from my flops!

[judydawn]

You could make a batch of advocaat pandateddy - it uses 6 egg yolks (but you need a cup of vodka too).  I have the opposite problem as I have made 2 batches of advocaat and have 12 egg whites in my freezer, hence the reason we are having pavlova roll for Christmas tea dessert.

[cookie1]

MJ and Pandateddy, I feel for you.  There are just some days you should not cook. If one thing goes wrong they all go wrong.

Thanks for the wheat MJ.

Thanks for having it at your place Meagan.

[Thermomixer]

OMG MJ - bad hair day indeed,    I am too mean - I would have just knocked the bread down a bit and into the timns and into the oven - sure I could have used it for something.

The beans that hadn't caught would have been blitzed in the Thermomix to make into bean dips or pate, or to make a soup.

MrsT hates when she says she is going to throw something out and I use it - sometimes she does refuse to eat it - but not often.  She made coconut ice and it was too soft and gritty and she was about to bin it    - it just needed some cooking and more coconut - now she loves it and has been eating it every night.  I can't stand coconut ice and so she has lots to eat.

Poor MrsT is also eating a Christmas pud each night after my experimenting. 

[achookwoman]

The Christmas chocolates are sure getting a doing over at our place also.     Will have to buy some more for Christmas day.

[meganjane]

I should have punched that dough down and baked it, I was just so cross! I don't think Bean Dip would have worked as the beans were still hard little rocks!
I know if you use salt the beans won't soften, I'm guessing it was the salt from the bacon. I'll try some vegetarian ones next time and see how they go.

Egg whites - Friands, Macaroons, Nougat, Angel Food Cake.
Egg yolks - Creme Brulee, Ice cream, Custard, Hollandaise.

Or, put in the freezer and when de-frosting freezer some months down the track, find little strange packet and throw away!!!

[judydawn]

  Know what you mean MJ.  Once again, I can't move in my freezers.  Foodland had so much cheap meat out today that I couldn't resist buying 7 packets, some family sized ones amongst them.  I knew I didn't have much space but nevertheless I still bought them and reshuffled things to fit them in.  Trouble is, we still have ham and turkey to get rid of before I even think of getting stuck into the freezer.  I must not go down the meat aisle for quite a while.

[Thermomixer]

It is hard though JD when you see a bargain not to just think -I can do something with that !  Then find you have no space in the freezer 

[Thermowoman]

Last time I cooked beans that wouldn't soften I checked the pack...they were 3 years out of date!! EVEN THOUGH I ONLY BOUGHT THEM THE WEEK BEFORE.....Won't be shopping at that health food store again....oop's just been told it has closed down....not surprised!

[CreamPuff63]

Sometimes you get a lot of satisfaction out of just chucking it out in a hissy fit. Makes you think about that recipe a lot and where you went wrong  or where IT went wrong

[andiesenji]

I should have punched that dough down and baked it, I was just so cross! I don't think Bean Dip would have worked as the beans were still hard little rocks!
I know if you use salt the beans won't soften, I'm guessing it was the salt from the bacon. I'll try some vegetarian ones next time and see how they go.

This is one "old wives tale" that is not wholy true.   It is not salt that keeps beans from softening.  It can slow it slightly but not if one uses the overnight soaking method.   I'm a southerner and have been cooking beans all my life and I always salt the soaking water, rinse the beans and salt the cooking water along with the beans.

It is acid that keeps beans from softening.  You can't add any acid to a bean dish until the beans are fully cooked and soft.
Acid will toughen the skins, making them leathery and stopping the osmosis which is how the beans absorb liquid.

One small tomato in a big pot of beans will have disastrous effects unless the acid is neutralized with bicarb or another base to counter the acid.   
This is why baked beans include molasses or sugar, in addition to tomato sauce or ketchup.   

Here is what Harold McGee has to say on the subject:
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/09/harold-mcgee-on-salt/

Dried beans are generally good for at least a year.  If they are "fresh" when purchased, you can, if you buy them in bulk and won't be using them all within this time, store them in a tightly closed container in the freezer.  I have a vacuum sealer and buy bulk beans from a local grower, seal them in 1-pound packages and keep them in the freezer.  This is like suspended animation and I have used two-year-old beans that turned out just fine.
Some varieties do last longer than others.  Generally the larger the bean, the longer it will keep but larger beans also require longer soaking if they have been around for awhile.

Try soaking the beans overnight with a lot more salt than seems necessary then rinse them in a colander before cooking and I am pretty sure you will like the results.

[cookie1]

You are a wealth of knowledge Andie.