Spiced Apple Butter Cookies

Winter's a week away.  Can you believe it?

Central Pennsylvania's been attempting winter in fits and starts for several weeks already.  We had a lovely little dusting of snow back around Thanksgiving.  No sunshine since then, though.  I've had to make my own sunshine by spending my free time either in the kitchen or with friends.  Ahhh, such a life.  

My holiday gift-giving this year is entirely food -- sweet pickles, apple butter, and homemade wine (recipes to follow).  Oh, and cookies!  When I got an email in October about the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap, I just knew I had to be a part.  Cookies in exchange for donating to a great cause, and an excuse to use up some leftover apple butter?  Yes yes yes!  

There was more than once that I nearly chased the delivery truck down the street while waiting for my cookies to arrive.

I was lucky enough to receive jam and hazelnut snowballs Carrie at Fresh from Oregon, red velvet cookies Lynna from Hearts in My Oven, and brown butter shortbread cookies from Sara at Confectionary Tales of a Bakeaholic.  I mean, can you even believe how beautiful these are?

They were a perfect mix.  I'm only a little ashamed to say I lived entirely on cookies for a while there.

How did I pick which cookies to send?  Well, to be frank I was shooting for something that was warming without being too sweet.  I'm not big on sweets and I just happened to have about four quarts of apple butter sitting around, so I tweaked the pumpkin molasses cookies from last year.  The result was chewy, soft, and almost reminiscent of an apple quickbread in bite-sized form.  If you like your cookies to lean to the sweet side, consider rolling them in (or dusting them with) cinnamon and sugar and/or adding mix-ins such as apple chunks or cinnamon chips.  You could also try a maple, ginger, or brown sugar glaze for an extra little sumthin'.  You have my permission to be creative!

Apple Spice Cookies

Total Time: 15 minutes to mix, 45-60 to refrigerate, 12-14 to bake, 10 to cool.
Yield: 45 cookies (1 TBS dough portions)

Ingredients:

• Wet Ingredients
• 0.5 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 TBS cream cheese, room temperature
• can sub: neufchâtel or mascarpone cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 0.25 cup molasses
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup apple butter
• Dry Ingredients
• 2.75 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• can increase to 2 tsp if you want a stronger flavor
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp allspice

Directions

1. Use a large mixing bowl to beat together the butter and cream cheese until they form a fluffy paste.
2. Add the sugar and cream the butter, cream cheese, and sugar together until they form a thick paste.
3. Add the egg, molasses, and vanilla to the bowl and beat until mixed well.
4. Beat in the apple butter and set the bowl aside.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients until well-combined and no lumps remain.  
6. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and gently mix the two together by hand until the flour just disappears.  Be careful not to overmix!
7. OPTIONAL:  if adding apple chunks or cinnamon chips, stir them in gently at this point.
8. Wrap the bowl and place it in the fridge for 45-60 minutes.
9. Preheat the oven to 350F.
10. Remove the dough from the fridge.  
11. Use a 1 TBS scoop to portion out dough balls.  Place dough balls several finger-widths apart, as they spread out quite a bit (~12-15 per baking sheet).
12. OPTIONAL:  if desired, used wet fingers to gently roll the balls into a uniform shape and/or dip them in cinnamon and sugar.
13. Bake 12-14 minutes, turning the tray 180 degrees halfway through.
14. Allow to cool 10 minutes on the baking sheet.
15. OPTIONAL: frost or glaze after cookies have cooled completely.

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Let's walk through it step by step!

First off is beating the butter and cream cheese together.

Once they form a fluffy paste, you're all set.

Put the sugar in the bowl next.

It will be difficult to photograph, but don't worry.

Next, beat the sugar & butter mix together until it forms a thick paste.  This process is called "creaming" the butter and sugar, and it's the basis for just about every cookie ever.

Next are the vanilla, egg, and molasses:

I kind of love that photo.  It's such a mess.

Mix all that up into a wet goo.

And then let the apple butter join the party.

I made the apple butter at home, recipe to follow shortly (short version: cook applesauce to death).   Most orchards and a number of grocery stores carry it, usually somewhere near the jams or peanut butter.  

Anyway, mix all that up and set it aside. 

Now, in a separate bowl, whisk together all your dry ingredients.

You can double the cinnamon if you want (or all the spices, for that matter), assuming you like a very strong flavor in your cookies.  I'd love to suggest that you start with the original amount to start and then scale it up according to your tastes, but don't let me hold you back.

Next, the wet ingredients get added to the dry.  

Mix by hand.  Gently!  Only stir it until the flour juuuuust disappears.  You want to almost err on the side of undermixed, though there shouldn't be any flour visible.  If you're putting any add-ins, such as apple chunks or butterscotch chips, do that here.  But again, don't overmix this.  It requires a light hand or you'll end up with tough cookies.

Tough cookies, sweetheart.

I find the dough is too sticky to work with at this point, so I pop it in the fridge for 45-60 minutes.  Ultimately that's optional, I just don't like to fight the dough.  Once it's cool, fire up the oven and use a 1 TBS cookie scoop (or just a measuring spoon) to portion out dough balls onto a greased sheet, parchment, or silpat.

If you like uniform, smooth cookies you can use wet fingers to gently roll them into rounds, but it's not necessary.  You can also sprinkle cinnamon & sugar over them, or dip / roll them if you want.  I'm not big on sugar so I don't, but it's your choice.  (Seriously, it's choose your own adventure with these!)

Be sure to leave plenty of space between cookies, 'cause they spread.  I can fit about 12-15 on a tray.  Whatever doesn't make it into the oven goes back into the fridge between batches, 'cause the dough warms up quickly.

They typically take about 12-14 minutes at 350.  At around 6-7 minutes, turn the tray 180 degrees so that they bake evenly.

They're gonna smell pretty divine, let me tell you.

They're fantastic warm, but do try to let them cool for 10 minutes before burning your mouth on them.  If you're going to glaze or frost them, wait until they're completely cool or you'll end up with a mess.

Voila!  They stay chewy for several days and freeze well.  Or you can pack them up and mail 'em off to your cookie swap partners.  

Saffron Sugar Buns (Trini Hot Cross Buns)

It's been many years now since I first discovered Trini sugar buns.  I don't often venture into West Indian / Caribbean cooking, but when I do I'm usually pleased with the results.  There's something incredibly appealing about that kind of fusion cuisine.

I came across Trini sugar buns one year when I was searching for a new take on hot cross buns.  The idea of adding in saffron to a lightly-sweetened, milky cinnamon bun was just what I was searching for.  In the years since it's become a tradition of sorts, though I never actually add the icing.  They're just as good for a non-holiday brunch as they are for Easter, too.

Saffron Sugar Buns (Trini Hot Cross Buns)

 
Total Time:  30 mins prep, 2-2.5 hours rising, 25 minutes baking.


Credits:  The idea of adding saffron and turmeric to sweet rolls came from The Trini Gourmet.  The base roll recipe is a sweetened version of a dinner roll recipe that's been in my family for generations (affectionately known as The Rolls).

Makes:  24 small buns or approximately 18 large ones.




Ingredients:

• 0.5 cup raisins (optional, can sub currants/sultanas if preferred) + roughly 1 cup of boiling water
• 1 cup + 1 tablespoon milk (whole is best, but ok to sub as per your preferences)
• 0.25 tsp saffron threads
• 6 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1/3 cup warm water
• 1 package (2.25 teaspoons) yeast
• 5 cups bread flour
• 0.5 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1.25 teaspoons salt
• 2.5 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 2 eggs

Glaze:

• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 0.5 tsp cinnamon

Icing (optional):

• 1 cup 10x (confectioner's/icing) sugar
• 4 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 tsp lime juice
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Place the raisins in a heat-safe cup and cover with enough boiling water to leave 2 inches of water on top.  Set aside for 30 minutes to plump.
2. Meanwhile, heat the milk using stovetop or microwave and stir in 3 tablespoons of the sugar until completely dissolved.  Once milk is hot enough to produce steam, remove from heat and add saffron.  Set aside to cool while the saffron infuses the milk.
3. Dissolve the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar into the lukewarm milk.  Add yeast and set aside to proof (5-10 minutes or until foamy).
4. Whisk together flour, salt, cinnamon, and turmeric.
5. Add shortening to the flour mix.  Blend until the flour takes on a grainy texture.
6. Add yeast mixture to the flour, mix.
7. Whisk eggs into the milk and mix until well-combined.  Knead 2-3 minutes.
8. Drain the raisins, pressing out any extra moisture.
9. Add raisins to the dough and knead 1-2 minutes or until combined.
10. Cover with a warm, damp towel and side aside to rise until doubled (about 90 minutes).
11. Form rolls (24 small or 18 large) by stretching dough over itself and pinching together at the bottom [see pictures below].  Space approximately two finger-widths apart in a well-greased pan.
12. Brush with milk glaze, cover with warm, damp towel, and aside aside to rise until doubled again (about 30-45 minutes).  NOTE:  if preferred, rolls could be covered with plastic wrap at this point and allowed to rise in the fridge overnight.  
13. Brush again with milk glaze just before baking. 
14. Bake at 325F for 25 minutes (may take slightly longer for large buns).  Halfway through, rotate the pans 180 degrees and brush again with milk glaze.
15. Allow buns to cool completely on a wire rack.
16. Optional:  whisk together the icing ingredients while buns are baking and place them in the fridge to cool.  Top with icing once buns are completely cooled.

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The trick to this particular recipe is to start the raisins and the saffron milk before doing anything else.  

The reason for plumping the raisins in hot water is to keep them from sucking all the moisture out of the buns as they bake.  If you're feeling adventurous you could also use milk or whiskey/rum.  I find hot water does the trick just fine.  Just make sure whatever cup you use can handle boiling water.  Cover them completely, plus a few inches extra on top to give them room to grow.

See how much they plump up? 

Next up is the saffron milk.  One important thing to remember if cooking/baking with saffron is that you won't get much flavor unless you infuse it into a warm liquid first.  I did this on the stovetop.  Microwaving is also an option.  You don't need to get the milk boiling or anything -- just warm it enough to steam a little and dissolve the sugar.  Once the milk is warm sprinkle the saffron on top, using your fingers to crush the threads a little as you go.  I took this picture as soon as I could grab my camera, and you can already see the color/flavor leeching into the milk just a few seconds after I put the saffron in.

Take it off the heat and let it cool.  You don't want the milk to be too hot when you add it to the dough or else it'll kill your yeast.  Lukewarm is okay. 

Note:  if you want to cut down on dishes, you could put the raisins into the hot milk along with the saffron.  I tend not to because then I find the buns get a little too raisin-flavored and the saffron flavor gets buried.  Up to you.

While the milk and raisins are busy working their mojo dissolve the remaining sugar and yeast into the lukewarm water.  

This is calling "proofing" because what you're doing is making sure (proving) that the yeast is alive.  That was more of an issue in the old days but is still a good idea if you tend to keep yeast for months or years.  It's not a strictly necessary step, though.  The proof that the yeast is active/alive is that it starts to digest the sugar, which we can indirectly observe by the gas that it lets off.  That's where the foam comes from:

Neat, huh?  And only a little bit gross.  Try not to think about it.  

While the yeast is chowing down on the sugar water and belching up proof (yum), whisk together your flour, salt, cinnamon, and turmeric:

The spices will kind of disappear into the flour.  Not to worry, the saffron is going to give the buns a nice yellow color.  

Next up is the shortening.  If you're like me, shortening kind of freaks you out.  If you want to give butter or even lard a try, I won't stop you though I can't guarantee that it'll come out the same.  You might have to play around with measurements a little.

Blending in the shortening will change the texture of the flour so that it's more grainy:

Okay, so now you've got all the major components.  First the proven yeast goes in:

Mix that up, whisk the eggs into the cooled milk (make sure it's only lukewarm, not hot):

See how yellow the milk got?  That's all the saffron-y goodness.  Once the eggs are whisked in, add that to the flour:

Blend it all into a dough.  If you're using a mixer, like I was, you may want to stop partway through to change from a paddle to a dough hook.  

Once it all comes together like the above, you can knead it for about 2-3 minutes.  That should give you a soft, springy dough:

At this point drain the raisins, pressing any extra moisture out, and add them in.  Another minute or two of kneading should be enough to mix them in.  

Your dough is done!  Wet down a clean cloth with hot water and drape it over the top of your mixing bowl.  The dough will rise at different rates depending on how warm your kitchen is -- usually about 90 minutes is adequate to get it to roughly double in size.

When the dough has risen it's time to shape it into buns.  I usually opt for smaller ones for the simple reason that I really like these buns and usually go for a second one whether I need it or not.  

There's a trick to getting round(ish) buns and rolls that goes like so:  stretch the dough through your fingers and tuck it in on itself until it's round and smooth.  Here's the first step, where I'm using the thumb of my left hand to push the dough through a ring made with the fingers of my right hand:

Please forgive my giant ham hands and instead focus on how this is stretching the top of the bun so that it's smooth.  Doing that will give you a kind of pocket at the bottom, which you can then pinch together:

Again, ham hands.  Sorry.  But anyway, if you put the bun seam-side down into your pan, nobody will ever know that the bottom is kind of puckery:

See?  And now your bun isn't all lumpy.

Lather, rinse, repeat until all the dough is used up.  Space them about two finger-widths apart and don't panic if you don't end up with an even number.  I had to go back and add extra leftover dough to a few just so I wouldn't have to start a third pan.

Aside:  does anyone else think it's weird when recipes say to put baked goods X inches apart?  Does anyone actually get out a ruler and check?

Next you'll want to brush these with the milk/sugar/cinnamon glaze.  This will add a little extra sweetness, but more importantly it'll keep the buns from drying out too much while they rise.  

Cover them with a warm, damp cloth and let them rise again until the buns are about doubled in size -- roughly half an hour, maybe a smidge more.

Brush 'em down with the milk glaze again when they're all risen:

And now it's time to bake!  The total baking time is 25ish minutes at 325F.  Halfway through brush them down with the milk glaze again and rotate the pans 180 degrees so that they bake more evenly.

When you're done the tops should be lightly browned and shiny:

Tadaaaa!  

If you're making the icing:  whisk the sugar/milk/lime juice together while the rolls are baking and put it in the fridge to firm up.  Drizzle it over the top once the buns are cooled.  I don't particularly care for icing so most of the time I skip that step.  

I prefer to eat them hot out of the oven with a little coffee.

Yum!

What I like best about these is that they're a-mazing right out of the oven, but they also toast up nicely the next day.  Just split them in half and pop 'em in the toaster oven for a minute or two to heat them back up.  

Crockpot Hoppin' John (Fusion-Style)

Hope you all had a lovely holiday season!

Hard to believe it's over, isn't it?  I had planned to put up my Irish scone recipe in time for Christmas breakfast, but with all the other baked goodies in the house I just couldn't bring myself to add more.  They're on my radar to share soon, I promise.  Other than that I spent most of the holidays cooking things that were other people's recipes (such as a Christmas rib roast and some crispy duck for New Year's Eve) or clearing out some of the freezer jars that'd started to pile up.  That's the awesome part about cooking & freezing in bulk -- any time I don't feel like putting together a meal I can just thaw one out without feeling like I've given up on nutrition.

Speaking of taking it easy, is there anyone at all who doesn't love a slow cooker recipe?  Toss in some meat/veg and some liquid, flip the switch, and come back in 6-8 hours to a hot meal that is almost always tender and delicious.  Meals just don't get any easier than that!

Growing up in New England, I didn't really have any exposure to lucky New Year meals until I was in college and started to make friends from Other Places.  I still love to hear about what kinds of foods people consider auspicious.  When I lived in Japan there were toshikoshi soba and oseichi to be enjoyed.  Here in rural PA, pork & sauerkraut is a bit of a thing.  Somehow, though, despite never living in the south I got into the habit over the last few years of making Hoppin' John for dinner on New Year's Day.  In the beginning I relied on recipes that spanned everything from the most rudimentary (beans, water, salt, & pepper) to more elaborate ones like recipes from Emeril and the Pioneer Woman (both are excellent).

This year I ran across a recipe on NPR that suggested an Indian twist on Hoppin' John.  A day or so later I found Thai and Vietnamese takes on it as well.  All three of these recipes call for either shredded coconut or coconut milk, something Doc will eat but doesn't really love.  The idea intrigued me enough to venture into trying a similar sort of thing.  Since it's more or less just a bean stew, I figured I could add in some extra spices and then toss the whole thing in the crock.  It keeps the concept of the original intact while adding in some color and a different flavor.

Here's a preview...




I don't think anyone would eat this and think, "wow, this is soooo south Asian."  Rather, the flavors were inspired by spices I didn't have any experience with until I started to try Indian foods.  This is definitely a fusion dish.


As always, the consolidated recipe is at the bottom of the page.

Slow Cooker Hoppin' John Raj

Total Prep Time:  15 minutes active + 12 hours inactive (only if using dried beans)
Total Cook Time: 6-8 hours
Makes:  ~10 cups
Weirdest Spices:  curry leaves, fenugreek seeds

I love crock cooking not only because it's so easy, but because it always gives me a bunch to freeze and cuts down on oil.  In this recipe there's none at all.  Ideal!  That said, if you wanted to speed this process up you could easily pop it on the stovetop on high, let it come to a boil, and turn it down to a simmer.  Based on other recipes like the ones I linked above, about 40-60 minutes of stovetop simmer should do it.

I used all fresh ingredients since I had them on hand, but if you want to use canned/frozen that'd do just as well.

Okay, so first off I threw a slow cooker liner into the crock.  These are heavenly if you haven't tried them yet.  Saves so, so much time when it comes to cleaning.  You still have to wipe down the pot after, don't get me wrong, but it does cut way down on the scrubbing (and swearing) part.

Ahhh, laziness.  The right way to start off the New Year.

Into that I threw a ham hock.  You absolutely can leave this out if you're not a fan of pork or if you want to make this recipe vegetarian/vegan.  If you're like me and did not grow up with random bits of animal thrown willy-nilly into dishes, the "hock" is more or less the pig's ankle.  I've seen other recipes call for jowl instead.  You could even substitute cubed ham or bacon if you wanted.  Basically, any cheap cut of pork will serve the function of adding a savory note and a little guilt to the dish.  As it turns out the butcher was able to give me one raw hock and one that was smoked.  Since there were so many other flavors going on here I used the raw and saved the smoked for split-pea soup later in the year.

Smoked to the left, naturally.

I put that down in the pot first, since that's the bit I want to make sure gets thoroughly cooked.  I surrounded it with 4 cups of black-eyed peas.

It'll get tastier-looking in just a minute, I promise.

A Gassy Aside:  A quick word on cooking with dried beans, if that's the route you choose (canned & frozen also totally a-ok, just for the record).  You'll want to wash & pre-soak dried beans before cooking.  This does two things: (1) it softens the bean so that it cooks more quickly & evenly later; and, (2) it starts the bean breaking down.  Breaking down releases gasses, if you get my drift.  For that reason I usually soak mine for 24-48 hours, so long as I've remembered in time.  If you're not a plan-ahead type, though, you can quick soak them in about an hour instead.  Or run to the grocery store for a can, that's probably even faster.  Here's mine after they'd been soaking for about 36 hours:

Look at all those bubbles that aren't ending up in someone's digestive tract!

One pound of dry beans gave me almost 8 cups after they'd been soaked.  I only used half in this recipe, saving the other half to make cassoulet some other day.

I topped the beans and ham with spices.  For this I tried 1 tablespoon garlic paste (you could sub 4-5 cloves of garlic), 2.5 tsp chili powder, 2 tsp coriander powder, 2 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tablespoon curry leaves (can omit), 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds, 4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme (can use dried), and 1 bay leaf.

Lay the meat on its side after all the pictures are done.

Spice Aside:  Curry leaves are an actual thing.  Like we've noted about cumin seeds/powder and mustard seeds/powder, curry leaves are not the same thing as curry powder, nor are fenugreek seeds and fenugreek powder/leaves the same.  Curry leaves have got an earthy kind of smell and flavor that can almost be compared to bergamot (but please don't substitute tea for curry leaves).  Fenugreek seeds are warm and almost a little citrusy,  something to take the place of the vinegar that's popular to add to this dish.  If you don't have curry leaves -- and chances are you don't -- just leave them out.  With the fenugreek seeds you could try subbing in a tiny splash of lemon juice or, again, just leave it out.

Next I diced up and packed in 1 green bell pepper, 1 red bell pepper, and 1 onion.

Love dem colors!

Followed by 2 diced tomatoes.

Tomaters go on top because they're fragile.

If someone presses you to explain the significance of these veggie choices, you could say that the green symbolizes money and that red is a lucky color.  Or you could say that these are what were in your produce bowl that needed using up.

Add roughly 2 cups of broth.  I had chicken stock in the freezer.  You could use vegetable stock if you wanted, or even water.  If your beans haven't soaked for long you might need to add a little more liquid as they expand.  As long as you have enough liquid to cover the beans & ham you're good.  Lay the ham on its side so that it doesn't stick up as far, that'll cut down on the amount of liquid you need.

You can add the stock directly after the beans to adjust volume if you'd like.

And that, my friends, is that!  Despite the length of this post it's honestly about 15-20 minutes of active work, including dicing the veggies.  If you're just opening cans / freezer bags, you're looking at maybe 5-10.

Cover that bad boy, plug it in, and switch it on.  The very rough rule of thumb for slow cooking is 4-6 hours on low or 8+ hours on high, though it's dependent on what you're cooking.  Since this recipe uses dried beans and raw pork I shot for 8 hours on low, making sure to check the temperature of the ham with a thermometer before serving.  If you omitted the pork or used precooked meat then shorter times would probably be okay - just go until the beans are squishy enough to eat.  If you've omitted the raw meat and are using canned beans, then really you're good to go as soon as it's warm enough for your tastes.

Tip:  When using a slow cooker the whole point is that the food gets brought up to temperature very gradually, usually to somewhere between 170 - 200 degrees F.  The difference between low and high settings is how quickly this happens, but generally speaking the contents of the crock won't exceed 200-220F.  The lid is the thing that traps all this heat in, meaning that if you take the lid off to stir or poke at your food - particularly in the first few hours - you're setting yourself back in terms of cooking time.  It takes several hours before the liquid will even start to boil.  I usually wait until at least the halfway mark to stir things or check consistency, but do please resist the temptation to uncover & stir during the first few hours.  With meats, particularly meats on the bone like a ham hock, I like to use the low setting since that helps the meat to break down more.

Now comes the easy part: doing anything else at all while this cooks!  And enjoying the smell, of course.

Eight hours later I opened up the pot to find a tasty-looking bean stew.

You wish this were scratch & sniff.

Add salt & pepper to taste once everything's fully cooked.  Keep in mind that stock is almost always salty (particularly if you buy it) and the ham is also salty, so between the two you might not need to add any extra salt at the end.  Taste first, then add gradually.

If you like you can remove the pork hock, pick the meat off the bone, and then return the meat to the pot.  Or if you're lazy like us, you can just kind of scoop around the bone.  That's the beauty of slow cooker meals -- the meat's always spoon-tender.

We served it over rice with a little raw spinach for crunch & color.

Slow Cooker Indian-Spiced Hoppin' John

Ingredients:

• 1 ham hock (can omit if desired)
• 4 cups black-eyed peas
• If dried: wash & soak overnight
• If canned: drain & rinse
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium-sized onion, diced
• 2-3 tomatoes, diced
• 2-3 cups vegetable or chicken stock, just enough to cover the beans & ham
• 1 tablespoon garlic paste, or 4-5 cloves of garlic
• 2.5 teaspoons red chili powder (or to taste)
• 2 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 tablespoon curry leaves (can omit if not available)
• 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (can omit)
• 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf

Instructions:

1. Layer ingredients in a slow cooker (minimum size: 4 qt): beans & ham, spices, pepper & onion, then tomatoes.
2. Add stock, checking to ensure that liquid covers the beans.
3. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 6 hours.
4. Add salt & pepper to taste.  
5. Serve over rice with greens.