Baked beans

(click to enlarge)

Theres something very warming about baked beans on a snowy day.

Today I cooked up products from Western Trails (see my blog entry about my factory visit, too), made and grown in Montana. Arent the beans (above) lovely? Can you pick out the adzuki, black, great northern, navy, pink, and pinto beans?

Rustler BBQ Bean Sauce and Buckaroo BBQ Bean Mix

Moz admires the beautiful layering of beans

These products are tasty and easy to use. Also, they keep a long time in the cupboard, and all you need to do is add water. This is important for long Montana winters, where you might not go to the store -- or at least feel like you dont want to go to the store -- for weeks at a time. If the power goes out, simmer them on the wood stove.

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Ouch

In some ways, Tuesday was not such a good day for stroopwafels after all.

Lest you think eating in Montana is all joy and endless delight, I must insert a warning here that you should also take care of your teeth.

While biting into a chewy Caramel Cookie Waffle, I lost an inlay. Luckily, it was not a filling, which leaves a big hole in your tooth and must be taken care of immediately or you are in endless pain. An inlay leaves a big gap, but the tooth itself is covered with something that protects it and there is no pain at all, although there is the danger of infection.

A snow storm raged while I contemplated what to do about getting to a dentist. Im still not comfortable driving icy roads, so the thought of having an emergency was daunting. It turns out, however, that I was able to make an appointment for today when the roads had cleared pretty much, and the intervening 3 days were endured with minimal unhappiness. (Though the sadness at giving up caramels will linger.)

My dentist in Columbus did a nice job replacing the inlay. All is well. But I wont be eating caramels again any time soon.

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