How to spend a sunny Saturday . . .

What is so sweet and dear
As a prosperous morn in May,
The confident prime of the day,
And dauntless youth of the year,
When nothing that asks for bliss,
Asking aright, is denied,
And half of the world a bridegroom is,
And half of the world a Bride.
~William Watson, Ode in May, 1880



This past weekend was the first May Bank Holiday, and for a change we actually had some pretty nice weather. You can usually guarantee that if it is the weekend, and people have an extra day off, the weather will be pants. We got pretty lucky this time, as we had pretty much gorgeous weather for the whole three days!

Over here in England, it's usually not a really good idea to go off anywhere in a car on a bank holiday weekend. The motorways are more than likely to be chockerblock full of cars packed with happy bank holiday travellers with the same idea in mind, and, unless you get very, very lucky, you can almost guarantee that if you do decide to go out for a drive anywhere, you will end up spending half of the day sitting in your hot car, waiting in a very slow moving traffic queue. Not my idea of fun!! (One of my favourite episodes of the television show "One Foot In The Grave" is about just that experience!)



We did get brave at the weekend however . . . the lovely weather tempted us beyond our usual borders, and we took ourselves off in the car on Saturday to Scotney Castle, which is really not all that far away from us. We were smart though, and took the back roads there instead of the main motorway, thus avoiding the bulk of the traffic!!



Scotney Castle is one of the most beautiful moated castles in the country, well, at least to me it is! The gardens are just gorgeous and I had always wanted to see them when the rhododendrons and azaleas were in bloom. Scotney Castle was originally a 12th century fortified manor house, founded by Lambert de Scoteni. There is also a fairly modern manor house that you can tour through as well.



It is also known to be one of England's most romantic gardens. It is not hard to imagine beautiful Ladies dressed in veils and gilt dresses gliding under the trees and amongst the stone walls festooned with ivy, whilst flirting coyly with handsome Knights and Lords as you are wandering about it's medieval splendour, and there is an almost ethereal feeling there that bespeaks of an ancient time long, long gone . . .

Rapunzel . . . Rapunzel, let down your hair . . .



There is even a very rare heather thatched ice house to explore.



The grounds were filled with happy families sharing picnics and happy times. There was a really festive feeling. It felt nice to be a part of it.



We have been there later in the season at other times, and each season seems to bring a particular beauty to the grounds. This was our first time visiting it in the spring, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves . . .



Walking hand in hand beneath the trees and amongst the pretty flowers . . .



Ambling around the moat and watching moorhens dancing amongst the reeds with a lone Canada Goose, water bugs skimming across the water's surface and clouds of midges dancing in the air above it . . .



Sitting on one of the many benches scattered throughout and just drinking in the sunshine and each other's company . . .



Falling under the spell and enchantment of the many bluebells and fairies scattered beneath the trees . . .



and becoming mesmerized by rare wild orchids . . .



The time went by far too quickly . . .



"I think that no matter how old or infirm I may become, I will always plant a large garden in the spring. Who can resist the feeling of hope and joy that one gets from participating in nature's rebirth?"
~Edward Giobbi



We arrived back home at the end of the day tired and happy, our energy sapped by the warm sunshine and the glorious walk. It's a good thing I had thought ahead to put some beans to bake in our crock pot in the morning before we left. We feasted that night on a good old fashioned baked bean supper. Served up with some sliced ham, Escalloped Potatoes and homemade Oatmeal Bread it was a most delicious end to what had been a most delicious day.

Normally I bake my beans in the oven, but knowing we were not going to be around most of the day for me to keep an eye on them I decided to throw caution to the wind and do them in my crock pot/slow cooker. They were amazing!! I don't think I'll ever use my oven again!



*Baked Beans* (Crock Pot)
Serves 8 to 10
Printable Recipe

Plan ahead as you need to soak the dry beans overnight for this recipe. We always had baked beans for supper on Saturday nights when I was growing up, not from the tin, but my mother's homemade and delicious. She used to cook them in a stone bean crock in her oven all day. To this day it is one of the first things we all ask for when we go home to visit. I had never done beans in the crock pot before but my cousin Geralyn swears by them. I thought I'd give them a try and was quite pleased with the results!

1 1/2 pounds dried haricot beans, rinsed and soaked overnight in roughly twice as much
cold water as there is beans
1 pound smoked bacon
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup medium maple syrup
1/2 cup mild molasses
1 tsp ground black pepper
3 TBS Dijon mustard
1 cup tomato ketchup
3 TBS soft light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup pineapple juice

After you have soaked the beans overnight, rinse them and place them in a pot with fresh water to cover. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook over medium heat for approximately one hour until tender.

Whilst the beans are cooking, fry the bacon in a large skillet, until lightly browned. Remove to drain on paper towels and set aside.

Lightly fry the onion in the bacon fat until it is soft and translucent. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and place in the slow cooker. Crumble up the bacon and add.

Combine the maple syrup, molasses, pepper, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, orange juice and pineapple juice in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and then simmer for about five minutes. Pour this mixture into the slow cooker and stir into the onions.

Scoop the simmered beans out of the cooking pot into the crock pot with a slotted spoon. Add only as much cooking water as is needed to cover the beans generously. Cook on low for 12 hours, or on high for 8. Taste and adjust seasoning towards the end of the cooking time, adding salt if needed. About 2 hours before they are finished, remove one cup of the beans, mash with a fork and stir them back into the whole mixture. This helps to thicken the sauce.

Serve hot with your favourite accompaniments.