NARRATOR: Coming up on Weekends with Yankee, Amy heads to southern Maine to uncover a treasured tradition of growing heirloom beans.

AMY TRAVERSO (laughing): Wow, this is bean town.

NARRATOR: And explore a homesteader's modern day Eden.

TRAVERSO: This is about as local as you can get.

NARRATOR: Then, a wildlife rehabilitation expert in Lyme, New Hampshire, is rescuing orphaned black bear cubs.

- They'll look you in the eyes, that just melts you.

NARRATOR: Finally, Richard is diving head first into the Maine Guide program.

(splashing) NARRATOR: So come along with us for a once-in-a-lifetime journey through New England as you've never experienced it before, a true insiders' guide from the editors of Yankee magazine.

Join explorer and adventurer Richard Wiese and Yankee senior food editor Amy Traverso for behind-the-scenes access to the unique attractions that define this region.

It's the ultimate travel guide from the people who know it best.

Weekends with Yankee.

- Major funding provided by: ♪ ♪ - Massachusetts is home to a lot of firsts.

The first public park in America.

The first fried clams.

The first university in America.

The first basketball game.

What's first for you?

♪ ♪ - Grady-White-- crafting offshore sport fishing boats for over 60 years.

- Country Carpenters-- handcrafted barns and homes for over 50 years.

- On an American Cruise Lines journey, you can explore historic New England.

- New Smyrna Beach, Florida-- sandy beaches and laid back adventure.

Relax already.

♪ ♪ TRAVERSO: You may have noticed in recent years that beans have gone from being an overlooked pantry staple to a star ingredient.

Now, that's thanks in part to the growing popularity of plant-based diets, but it's also due to their incredible beauty and diversity and nutritional value.

So to learn more about this bean revival, I've come to Berwick, Maine, where I'm going to talk with farmer Charley Baer, who grows beautiful antique varieties here on his farm.

♪ ♪ Hi, Charley.

- Good morning, Amy.

TRAVERSO: I'm so happy to meet you, because your beans really make me happy.

And I know that sounds a little silly, but they're so beautiful and diverse, things I can't get at the supermarket.

- Well, I've been collecting bean varieties around New England and saving the seed and growing them for over the past 35 years.

Our farm produces many varieties local to the area since colonial times... TRAVERSO: Wow.

- ...but are now only rarely seen.

TRAVERSO: I feel like we lost the bean tradition for a little while, but now it's back, and I'd love to see how you do what you do.

♪ ♪ - Amy, take a look at what we have going on here.

TRAVERSO: Wow!

- But just be careful of... this heavy duty blower fan is used to dry the beans after harvest.

It blows air through a screen in the bottom of this bin full of beans.

TRAVERSO: Oh, my gosh.

This is amazing.

This could feed so many people.

What kind of beans are these?

- This is an unusual black bean called black coco.

TRAVERSO: It's beautiful.

Where's it from?

- Some of them have been grown on the West Coast.

It's a lot larger than the standard black bean.

TRAVERSO: How do you know when they're ready?

- Well, we actually have a little instrument that tests the moisture content of the beans.

TRAVERSO: Oh.

- And my partner Rob should have it.

Rob, would you mind bringing that over?

Let's see what we got for a moisture content in these beans.

- Here you go, Charley.

- This is my partner, Rob.

TRAVERSO: Hi, Rob.

- Amy.

- Does all the hard work on the farm with me, and he and his wife Maggie will probably be taking over the farm someday.

TRAVERSO: Oh, that's so great.

So how does this work?

- All right, let's give this a test to see how these beans are coming here.

Simply fill it up, level it off with the beans.

TRAVERSO: 19%.

- Nine... Yeah, that's a little too high for long-term storage.

TRAVERSO: Okay.

- We've got to bring it down to about 12.

TRAVERSO: So how about these heirloom beans that you grow?

- Well, let me show you some.

We have some in back of the barn here.

♪ ♪ - TRAVERSO (laughing): Wow, this is Beantown.

- Yes, we have... TRAVERSO: Forget Boston.

- ...plenty of them here.

And this is one of the unique... TRAVERSO: Ooh.

- ...New England heirloom varieties we grow.

It's called Vermont cranberry.

TRAVERSO: Really?

- Obviously from... from Vermont.

TRAVERSO: From Vermont.

- Hear the difference in these beans, can't you?

TRAVERSO: Yeah.

- They're really drying out well.

TRAVERSO: It sounds so nice, like a rain stick.

- They're rattling a little bit now.

TRAVERSO: So, what are these beans like?

- These beans have kind of a sweet flavor, a smooth texture.

They make an excellent chili.

TRAVERSO: Ooh, that sounds great.

So how about some other local heirloom beans?

- Well, I have one special one.

TRAVERSO: Really?

- A very rare variety called King of the Early... TRAVERSO: Oh, I want to see that.

- ...on other end of the barn here.

Take a look here.

- TRAVERSO (gasping): That's a beau... it's almost purple.

(gasps) I love this.

- Very colorful.

And this one is from Knox, Maine, central Maine.

TRAVERSO: I've just never seen that kind of an, like a aubergine color.

- This is a nice baking variety.

TRAVERSO: Oh, yeah.

- Yeah.

TRAVERSO: If you weren't growing these varieties... - They could be lost.

You know, I'm trying to save beans.

TRAVERSO: Yeah.

- And many of these-- like this one especially, I may be the only one left growing it in New England.

TRAVERSO: Well, we are very, very lucky to have these beans, and I'm so grateful that you're growing them, because I certainly enjoy them in the kitchen.

- Well, thank you.

Thank you for stopping by here today.

TRAVERSO: Thanks.

♪ ♪ Now I'm headed across town to visit my friend Joe Yonan.

Now Joe lives a very urban life as the food editor of The Washington Post.

But his sister Rebekah has a homestead here with her husband, and they grow almost all of their own food, including a lot of beans.

♪ ♪ (chickens clucking) ♪ ♪ I feel like I am walking into Eden right now.

(laughing): This is so beautiful.

- (chuckling): Well, welcome to Eden.

TRAVERSO: Thank you.

Hi, there.

I'm Amy.

- Oh, it's so great to meet you.

- Nice to meet you.

TRAVERSO: Yeah, it's so great to meet you too.

- Heard wonderful things about you from my brother.

- Rebekah.

TRAVERSO: Hi, there.

- Yeah, good.

TRAVERSO: This, let's hope... - Smell it.

TRAVERSO: Oh, my gosh.

- This is lemon balm and some sage.

TRAVERSO: Well, should we walk around and take a look at... - Sure.

- Please.

We'd love to show you.

TRAVERSO: ...It's so beautiful.

Okay, great.

- I'd love to show you.

TRAVERSO: I'll follow you.

♪ ♪ TRAVERSO: Uh, is this arugula?

- It is.

- Yeah, try it.

TRAVERSO: It's so sweet and so peppery.

♪ ♪ How much of your food do you actually grow?

- A, a large percentage.

- When I retired in 2011, we started a project to see if we could grow all our caloric and nutritional needs.

In order to do that, you either have to have grains and-or nuts.

And our grains are growing up there.

♪ ♪ TRAVERSO: Well, I'd love to see the dehydrator.

Could we go see... - Well, let's go then.

- Yes, yes.

- It's right over here.

TRAVERSO: Okay.

- We dry the beans there.

I dry a lot of herbs.

TRAVERSO: And it's solar?

- It-- yes.

- Yes.

- You can feel the heat coming off this... TRAVERSO: Wow.

- ...right now, right here.

About the only thing we've got going is black walnuts, but there is... TRAVERSO: Look at those.

- ...50 square feet of drying space.

TRAVERSO: You didn't have any beans in there right now, are you fully done harvesting the beans for the year?

- We have harvested all the beans, but we still have four, four bushels to shell.

TRAVERSO: Oh!

Can I help?

- And if anybody wants to give a hand... TRAVERSO: I would love to.

- Oh, good.

TRAVERSO: I would love to.

- This is this way.

TRAVERSO: Okay, great.

♪ ♪ So, what kind of beans are these?

- This is a Hutterite soup bean.

TRAVERSO: How many beans do you grow?

I imagine they're a big part of your diet.

- They're very important.

We're growing, I think, maybe about ten different varieties.

TRAVERSO: Okay.

- And two years ago, we grew 151 pounds.

TRAVERSO: You have an incredibly varied diet with just about anything, I mean, any produce that I could imagine wanting to eat.

- You know, one of the differences between homesteading and farming is you get to grow what you want.

TRAVERSO: Well, I honestly would enjoy sitting here all afternoon and shelling beans with you, but I am curious to see what Joe's doing over in the kitchen, so... - Oh, it's something.

TRAVERSO: I'm going to go.

Okay, great.

Well, thank you.

- It's something.

Come back if you can.

TRAVERSO (laughing): Okay.

- Thank you, Amy.

TRAVERSO: Sure.

♪ ♪ Hey, Joe.

- Hey, how's it going?

TRAVERSO: It's so good to see you.

- Nice to see you.

TRAVERSO: It's been way too long.

- I know.

How are you?

TRAVERSO: Good.

- Good.

TRAVERSO: So, what are you making?

- Well, I'm making baked beans.

TRAVERSO: Oh.

- Yeah.

TRAVERSO: Well, you wrote the book on beans.

- Yes, I did.

And this is a recipe I call Homesteader's New England- style baked beans.

TRAVERSO: Okay, so I'm guessing... - In honor of my... TRAVERSO: ...inspired by this place.

- That's right, inspired by this place.

It really is a very simple recipe.

TRAVERSO: Right.

- It's sliced onions and salt, ground ginger and mustard powder, smoked paprika, and maple syrup, black strap molasses, and black pepper.

TRAVERSO: These look really beautiful.

- These are ready.

I just added the apple cider vinegar and a little more salt.

TRAVERSO: Okay.

- You want to taste?

TRAVERSO: Yeah.

- Yeah.

TRAVERSO: Thank you.

Mmm.

Those are so good.

It has this beautiful, silky sauce.

- If you cook them slowly, and I think especially if you don't use too much water when you cook them... TRAVERSO: Right.

- ...the broth ends up having this incredible body to it.

I call it liquid gold.

TRAVERSO: And the smoked paprika really makes up for the absence of the, the bacon.

- Yep.

TRAVERSO: I think I'm kind of sold on vegetarian baked beans for sure.

(both laugh) - Great, great, I'm so glad.

TRAVERSO: So should we maybe sit down with Rebekah and Peter and have some dinner?

- Let's eat.

♪ ♪ TRAVERSO: So we've got these incredible beans that Joe made, and then arugula and flowers from the garden, cornmeal that you harvested and milled, right?

- Yeah.

TRAVERSO: And these potatoes, I mean, this is sort of the ultimate homesteader's feast right now.

People talk about, you know, eating locally.

This is about as local as you can get.

- Yes, it is.

Yeah.

TRAVERSO: So, Joe, you lived here on the homestead for a year.

- Mm-hmm, yep.

TRAVERSO: How did that change your way of cooking and your approach to food in general?

- I mean, it was amazing to be able to work with food that you were harvesting immediately.

I had really cemented a love of vegetables... TRAVERSO: Mm.

- ...when I was here, and I was trending toward vegetarianism, I was getting really close, but it was the year that I was here that made me really feel like I could do it.

TRAVERSO: Mm.

- It was because of, yeah, being so close to the food that you grow, and, and eating such fresh vegetables, and beans are a huge part of that... TRAVERSO: Mm-hmm.

- ...because they're so nutritious and versatile... TRAVERSO: Mm-hmm.

- And affordable and sustainable.

TRAVERSO: You were probably working with varieties here that you've never had before.

- Mm-hmm.

TRAVERSO: Did that in part inspire you to write Cool Beans, which is sort of like the bible of cooking with beans?

- Mm-hmm, uh-huh.

Yeah, it absolutely did.

There were varieties that I didn't know about.

TRAVERSO: Yeah.

- Jacob's Cattle, maybe even cranberry.

- Marfax.

- And marfax.

It showed me that there was more than black beans, chickpeas... TRAVERSO: Mm-hmm.

- ...and pinto beans, you know.

TRAVERSO: Right.

So, Mason, how has your eating changed since you came here?

- Oh, well, I've definitely been eating a lot healthier.

That's for sure, and definitely a lot more beans.

I mean, coming from Texas, yes, there was Tex-Mex food, but this is such a staple part of the diet.

It's, it's wonderful.

TRAVERSO: Well, it has been wonderful for me to have the opportunity to come here and to see this beautiful place and enjoy the fruits of your labor, not mine.

(laughter) So thank you so much.

- Oh, you're welcome.

TRAVERSO: This is just a delight.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: In Lyme, New Hampshire, lives a man who walks with bears.

Ben Kilham has devoted his life to studying the complex behaviors of the American black bear.

- I've been very fortunate to have the animal that I've had an interest in in my backyard.

I just have to go out the back door.

NARRATOR: The Kilham Bear Center has raised and returned to the wild over 350 cubs.

Ben's passion for his adopted bear family and his natural inquisitiveness pushed him to become one of the world's foremost experts on rehabilitation methods.

- I didn't have a, a pathway to becoming a scientist, and so my intent in the beginning was just to do what made me happy.

My dad was a virologist and studied birds as an advocation, so, we didn't talk about sports.

We talked about nature and wildlife growing up, and I helped him with his studies, so I learned how to take good notes and ask the right questions and not over-interpret things.

And my interest became in carnivores and mammals.

And as access to them, my sister Phoebe and I became wildlife rehabilitators.

And we did that for two years, and none of the animals I was interested in came our way.

I was interested in a coyote or a bobcat or a fisher, the large woodland weasel we have around here.

Black bears weren't even a consideration because there was no black bear rehabilitation in New Hampshire at the time.

I was walking them.

I was seeing them firsthand.

And that's what I'm good at.

I'm good at observing and making sense out of what I see.

Traditional science-- and I kid my professor, I've got my PhD now, and I kid him-- I said, "You know, you spend all your life making scientists."

I said, "You can't make somebody like me."

NARRATOR: Ben's love for bears started serendipitously when local conservation officers began bringing him cubs in need of rehabilitation.

- I've just walked the cubs for 18 months and documented, you know, their progression.

There was a development that took place over time.

All that was important, how they learned to eat and how they learned from each other and the importance of play and all those kind of things.

And when I first started, I went to some bear... international bear conferences, and they essentially thought I was crazy.

When I talked about bear social behavior, they... nobody believed it.

So I took up photography, and then later on running a video camera, and I filmed everything that I saw.

And that made believers out of them.

One of the problems is that people are afraid of bears.

Even researchers are afraid of bears.

One of the, one of the things I got criticized for was working closely with bears.

NARRATOR: Ben has published books documenting the powerful insights and lessons from his bear interactions.

The depth of his behavioral knowledge has also led him to help other biologists across the globe.

In China, he trained scientists using his rearing methods to help orphaned pandas.

Teaching what he has learned is very much at the core of his mission.

Now Ben has enlisted his nephew Ethan to continue his legacy using the techniques he pioneered at the Kilham Bear Center.

- I've had a bunch of time observing.

There's a certain responsibility of care that you have to be willing to put up with these really cool animals.

You have to put in the hard work.

- The nice thing about having Ethan here is he's been involved in how we've done it in the past, and he's continuing that.

- Hopefully, it can continue to function as it does now and just improve on how well we can care for these animals, and obviously continue doing a good job of releasing them back into the wild as perfectly functional wild animals.

- You don't often get a window into a bear's mind.

- If you spend this much time with an intelligent animal, in many respects you come to learn that these bears are just as emotionally intelligent, if not more, than a human, because they'll tell you if you do something wrong or if you overstep or if you invade personal space.

- People in New Hampshire are less afraid of bears than they were when I started.

It certainly has helped to, to have the books that people could read, and lecturing people certainly made a difference.

But getting it to everybody is pretty difficult.

- If you can come to the conclusion that they're an intelligent, compassionate animal who tries to do the best it can; it's not doing-- they're not doing anything out of malice.

They're just trying to fulfill basic needs in terms of survival, I think that would go a long way.

- As an observer, you can see that, yeah, there's... their world's frail.

And if you get to know the organisms that live on this earth and how they interact with each other-- you know, one of the things that amazes me that is all animals can, can communicate with each other.

It's only us humans who can't communicate with animals.

♪ ♪ RICHARD WIESE: Ah, greetings.

Hi, Kristen.

- Hi, Rich.

How are you?

WIESE: I'm very well.

I'm so excited to be here in Maine at the L.L.

Bean Outdoor School... - We're so excited to have you.

WIESE: ...meeting a Maine guide.

- Welcome.

WIESE: Thank you.

Well, you know, today isn't the blue sky day that I, I pictured it to be.

- It's still going to be a great day.

There's still a lot to do, a lot to learn.

We'll make sure that we have you prepared for the weather that we have been gifted today.

But the rugged beauty is just phenomenal here.

It's opportunities to get lost, opportunities to get found as well.

WIESE: I'd love to be able to see the facilities here... - Mm-hmm, yeah.

WIESE: And, you know, some of the places that you teach.

- I would love to show you.

It's a great location.

WIESE: All right, great.

♪ ♪ So what's the process of becoming a guide?

- Yep.

So you have to pass an exam.

It's a written exam and an oral exam, questions about wildlife and weather and different scenarios and gear.

Missing person scenarios, that sort of thing, just how would you handle a crisis and prevent one from happening to begin with.

WIESE: So what made you decide to become a guide?

- I was actually a guide before I moved to Maine.

I started as a whitewater raft guide out west, moved to the Boston area, and spent a lot of time paddling on the coast of Maine, camping out on the islands up here and decided to move up here.

WIESE: The tradition of women in the woods in Maine is not something recent.

- No, not at all.

And, in fact, the first registered Maine Guide was a woman, Cornelia Crosby, also known as Fly Rod Crosby, phenomenal fly-fisher woman.

She was, she was ahead of her time.

So back in the days when women were wearing the corsets and the, the heavy wool skirts and the boots with the high heels that were not at all designed to be outside, she was out there catching fish and kind of setting a standard that we still go by today.

She was a big proponent of catch and release, which wasn't, you know, greatly practiced at the time.

WIESE: One of the things we're doing today is what do you do with a submerged canoe?

- Yeah.

And on days like today, yeah, there's an added challenge, and, again, it starts with the awareness, and, and preparations.

♪ ♪ WIESE: Canoeing is a lot of fun... - Mm-hmm.

WIESE: But obviously in windy conditions or even sometimes people just goofing around having fun, you go into the water.

- Yeah.

WIESE: So what's the most effective way in which we can get in a position to where we can save the boat and ourselves?

- You want to stay by your boat and hold onto your paddle if you can.

Soon as we go over, try to make contact with that boat again.

We'll flip the canoe; we'll right it, and then to kind of balance out the weight of us both trying to get in, we're going to try to get in on opposite sides.

If that doesn't work, I will get in first and then stabilize the boat while you climb in.

♪ ♪ WIESE: Park it like you have... - Yeah... WIESE: Foot up?

- Get one foot on the bow like this.

Then... flip over.

(splashing) WIESE: Okay.

(splashing) ♪ ♪ - Here you go.

WIESE: Thank you.

I felt more confident being with an expert, and that this is a controlled situation.

- Yeah.

You did really well.

And, in fact, I'm actually worried about your, your body temp, so let's get you... let's get you warm and dry.

Coffee... WIESE: Maybe some pie... - Coffee and pie await.

WIESE: ...and pie.

NARRATOR: Part of surviving in the wild is learning how to cook in the great outdoors.

WIESE: There's nothing greater than stopping by a campfire... - Mm-hmm.

WIESE: ...and eating by it.

- I absolutely agree.

Today, we're going to be doing that blueberry pie.

First thing we're going to do, we are going to make a crust.

I find that a "pat-in" crust is easier than a roll-out crust.

Do you want to do this?

WIESE: Sure.

- Okay.

♪ ♪ So you want it like-- out to there is where we want to go.

WIESE: Okay.

Okay.

- Yep.

So the bottom is done.

I am minding a bunch of charcoals that I have lit.

WIESE: You're covering the entire pot, right?

- We-- yes.

We're going to be putting coals under it and on top.

If you want to get our filling started.

So, I have one can of blueberry pie filling.

WIESE: Okay.

- And one pint of fresh blueberries.

WIESE: Okay.

- Just gently mix it all up.

(spoon clanking) ♪ ♪ WIESE: Okay.

And now you're going to take those and cover the top?

- I will oftentimes use a-- just a cup to get some shapes.

We're going to put the lid on, and what we're going to do is we are going to take our Dutch oven over to our nice fire.

We got some coals going over there.

NARRATOR: In the spirit of keeping a seasoned Maine Guide on her toes, Richard convinces Kristen to ditch her usual briquette method for the wood fire's natural coals.

WIESE: When you cover it this way, is it just by trial and error, you've decided how long it's going to take, or... - So, usually, just use those briquettes, because I know each briquette is going to be ballpark by about ten degrees.

So, it's more predictable.

We're going rogue... and it's going to be delicious.

♪ ♪ - Wow!

WIESE: Look at that!

- Hey, we did well.

WIESE: Very good.

- Yeah, we knocked it out of the park.

WIESE: Thank you for the adventure today.

- Thank you for coming and visiting.

WIESE: And, you know, let's hope that Maine always stays this way, you know, sort of living on the edge of reality.

- (chuckling): I'll toast to that.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: For exclusive videos, recipes, travel ideas, tips from the editors and access to the Weekends with Yankee digital magazine, go to weekendswithyankee.com, and follow us on social media, @yankeemagazine.

Yankee magazine, the inspiration for the television series, provides recipes, feature articles, and the best of New England from the people who know it best.

One year for $20.

Call 1-800-221-8154. Credit cards accepted.

Major funding provided by: ♪ ♪ - Massachusetts is home to a lot of firsts.

The first public park in America.

The first fried clams.

The first university in America.

The first basketball game.

What's first for you?

♪ ♪ - Grady-White-- crafting offshore sport fishing boats for over 60 years.

- Country Carpenters-- handcrafted barns and homes for over 50 years.

- On an American Cruise Lines journey, you can explore historic New England.

- New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

17 miles of beach.

Relax already.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪