SMOKY BAKED BEANS

          1 lb dry Navy beans          1 bell pepper, chopped
          2 cloves garlic              ½ jalapeño, chopped
          1 whole onion                ¼ cup butter
          2 cloves                     2 cups tomato purée
          1 bay leaf                   4 tsp parsley flakes
          ⅛ tsp thyme                  2 tsp salt
          1 onion, chopped             1 tsp liquid smoke

Stick the cloves into the whole onion. Boil with the beans, bay leaf, and thyme in water to cover until tender. Drain and reserve liquid.

Sauté the chopped onion and peppers in the butter until the onion is lightly colored. Add the tomato purée, parsley, salt, and liquid smoke and one cup of the reserved bean liquid. Simmer five minutes.

Pour vegetables over beans, adding barely enough reserved liquid to cover. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

Adapted from “Beans: Grown in Michigan” (1970). Discover more vintage recipes at the Padgett Sunday Supper Club (clubpadgett.com)!