Beans & bridges

I’ve just got the slow cooker on the go for tonight’s dinner.

Usually I’m a fairly strict follower of recipes but not this time. I’m nervous about putting soaked dried kidney beans into a cold slow cooker. One thing I’m aware of is that with dried kidney beans, after soaking, it is essential to fast boil them for at least 10 minutes to kill off the toxins. I cannot imagine how a slow cooker is ever going to reach a rapid boil. It works on the use of the minimum of heat for a long time.

My beans have been rapid boiled before they’ve gone in the slow cooker. I don’t want food poisoning for us tonight. That’s a little extra we can do without. As I’ve gone that far from the recipe I’ve made a few extra changes – a bit more of this, a bit less of that. Hopefully the result will be good. We’ll find out tonight.

Meanwhile we were shocked last night to see the results of some of the devastation caused by flooding in Cumbria. One wit has crossed off the “Bridge” on the plate naming the village of Pooley Bridge as the bridge is no more. It’s become a long drive to visit friends etc. on the other side of the River Eamont. Children going from Grasmere to school in Keswick are now having a long walk in all weathers from one bus to another as the intervening road has been washed away. A temporary secure footpath has been made beside the road. However there is no lighting or protection from the weather for those children as they trudge along the path early in the morning before daylight arrives & return after the dark has settled in once more at the end of the school day. Apparently, in places, whole fells have moved. It’s going to cost millions repair all the damage done.