beans beans the musical fruit

I must make beans more than anything else--I'm pretty sure they make up the majority of the protein in my diet. Usually once a week I cook up a pound of 'em, and then the man-wife and I just eat them for meals throughout the week. A few months ago, I was all about my pressure cooker--beans can be whipped up really fast under pressure, without even the need to soak. These days, since my pressure cooker died and I inherited an ancient crock pot, I've discovered this is a much better way to go. It's so very easy, and when dinnertime comes around, the beans are just incredibly soft--with a ridiculously small amount of work. They literally melt on the plate, and have so much more flavor even when made with the same ingredients I used to throw into the pressure cooker. My only concern is the vintage crock pot I use doesn't have a polarized plug, so if I'm out most of the day (I like to turn it on before work), I worry needlessly that my house might burn down. So far, so good!

Beans, beans, the musical fruit.
The more you eat, the more you toot.
The more you toot, the better you feel.
So eat your beans with every meal!

Beans don't mess with me either. Not at all, no extra farts over here. My #1 choice is pintos and my least favorite is black beans, but really I'm happy with them all. Except for pasty Lima beans, like Mrs. Smith fed us in the 70s.

Here's how I fix them in my crock pot:

1. Rinse and drain a pound of dry beans (white, red, black or pinto).
2. Throw them in the crock with enough water to cover by 4 inches.
   
3. Add a chopped medium onion, a good shake of salt free Creole seasoning and two dry chipotles (rip off their stems). You can also add a small can of no salt chopped tomatoes (just reduce the water).
   
4. Turn that baby on high and stir when you get home from work nine hours later.
   
5. Add salt and season to taste--it's important to add the salt last, after the beans are already soft, if you add it too soon it'll toughen up the beans' skin and prevent them from becoming tender.

xo
kittee