Didn't I tell you there is a lot going on this time of the year?  Here's another event you won't want to miss.  Not only is there great food, it's a chance to taste a little history - literally!

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Did you know that American Indians cooked beans this way?  They made sort of an early version of brick ovens by digging a pit, lining it with stones and building a hardwood fire in it, then embedding a tightly covered clay pot containing water, beans, maple syrup and perhaps some herbs into the coals and covering it with more hot coals topped with a thick layer of earth.  The beans were left to cook for a day or more.  This method of cooking beans was passed on to the early settlers.  They had iron kettles instead of clay pots, and these worked perfectly, too.  Same principal as cooking in a Dutch oven.  The long, slow cooking makes the beans extra tender and flavorful.  

The Indians and the early colonists used this method to cook other dishes, as well, especially meat such as whole animals stuffed with edible roots and nuts.  The whole thing would be wrapped in wet leaves and tightly covered with stones and earth and left to slow cook for a day or so.  Sealing the pit so it was air tight prevented the food or the covering of leaves from burning - it all just stayed hot and deliciously moist.  The result was a feast for a large group of people.
 
The bean hole supper is great fun for families and a wonderful way for youngsters to experience history.