BAKED PEA BEANS

2 pounds dried white beans (navy pea beans)
1 onion
2 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon salt
1 pound lean salt pork
1 pound smoked ham
3 onions
3 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons mustard powder
1/4 cup rum

Soak washed and sorted beans overnight.

THE NEXT DAY:
Drain and add fresh water to come 3 inches above the beans. Add the onion stuck with whole cloves, bay leaf, and salt, and bring to a boil. Boil rapidly for 5 minutes. Skim the top, reduce the heat and simmer until the beans are tender but not mushy.

Meanwhile, put the salt pork in water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Remove the pork from the water and cut it first into slices, then into small pieces. Cut the ham into strips.

Peel and chop the onions and garlic cloves. Blend the mustard with a little bean liquid.

TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE:
Taste the beans for seasoning. Place a layer of the beans in the bottom of a large baking dish. Add a layer of salt pork, ham, onion, and garlic. Repeat the layers ending with beans on top. Pour the mustard water over the mixture, and add enough bean liquid to come to the top of the baking dish.

Bake in preheated moderate oven (350 degrees F) for 90 minutes. Keep the beans moist while baking; add more bean liquid or water, as needed. After 90 minutes, remove and pour the rum over the beans. Return to oven and bake another 45 minutes, or until nicely browned and bubbly.

Reheat at picnic on camp stove or serve cold.

Makes 12 servings
Source: Picnics by James A. Beard in Woman's Day Encyclopedia of Cookery, 1966