Just a comment on this recipe I submitted. Wow, haven't looked at this site in awhile... anyhow, in defense of this recipe... this is a variation of the more traditional New England baked bean dish (made with just brown sugar and/or molasses with ground mustard) and it is meant to be "subtle". Bland and slightly sweet actually with a hint of ginger zippiness. It is not like the baked bean dishes from the American West and South which are much spicier and zesty (which I also love, been looking for a good bbq/ranch style/southwestern type of bean recipe to try). Ketchup and other spices, as some reviewers suggested and added, seem almost sacrilegious. LOL As for the amount of water you add to the beans, the recipe as I originally submitted stated that it had to be monitored and adjusted accordingly. Different altitudes (I'm in Colorado) and crockpots will require some tweaking. Also, I always stir the beans a few times in the last few hours, which crushes a few beans and thickens up the dish overall. If there is too much water, I remove some. Cooking is an art, not a precise science... tweak as you go... adding more of "this" next time and less of "that"... which is why there are so many recipes for the "same dishes" out there.

Reviewed On: Feb. 11, 2008