Tasha Tudor’s Baked Beans (sort of, I’ve made a few changes to suit myself)

You’ll need a Bean Pot, it needs to hold about 1 1/2 to 2 quarts and have a fitted lid.

2 cups navy beans
pinch of baking soda
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced
Few slices of bacon, I use about 6 cut in half
2 Tablespoons of light molasses
1 quart (maybe a little less) tomato juice
salt and pepper
1 Tablespoon Rapidura or Sucanat, divided (or use dark brown sugar)
1/2 pound good sausage meat, I use smoked sausage (not kielbasa, but real smoked sausage)
1/2 teaspoon Coleman’s Dry Mustard
Wash and pick over the beans, put them in a pot of water and boil them until their skin pops when you blow on them. Drain them and cover with fresh water and the pinch of baking soda, simmer til the beans are very tender.

Place a layer of onions at the bottom of the pot, add half the beans, half the sausage, half the bacon, the molasses, 2 cups of the tomato juice, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of the sucanat.

Layer the rest of the ingredients and fill the pot up with tomato juice to cover everything.

Put the lid on and bake at 250*F all day, about 8 hours. You can take the lid off and stir it 2 or 3 times during baking and taste for salt and pepper. Once the beans are tender you can serve it with brown bread for a delicious meal.