It takes little effort to cook beans yourself and then store them in the refrigerator to use in recipes and top salads with. You also retain complete control about how much salt to use which is a benefit you do not have when using canned beans.
So, how do you cook beans? Here we go:
1 pound dried beans, any kind, preferably organic
1-2 bay leaves (Frontier sells the most potent, freshest spices)
1/2 - 3/4 tsp salt (or none or less if you desire); sub Bragg's Liquid Aminos if you wish
1 Tbsp dulse (it's a Japanese seaweed that adds nutrition to your beans), optional
1. Wash the beans thoroughly in a colander and sort through them as you swish them around with your hands removing shells, debris, broken bean pieces, and stones
2. Cover the beans with 6 inches of water and soak them overnight or at least 8 hours. You can do this right in the pot you will use to cook them, but do not leave out the next step.
3. Drain the soaking liquid from the beans, rinse them again and then add 5 cups of water. Use more if they are not covered by about 4 inches. Stir in the rest of your ingredients. Bring the beans to a boil; should foam form on top of your beans, gently skim it off. Lower the heat and simmer the beans for about 2 hours. Check them every once in a while, some will be done quicker, some take a bit longer. You want a soft bean which easily mashes between your fingers.
4. Let your cooked beans cool and then store them with their liquid in containers in your fridge or you can even freeze them.
Voila! Now you have beans in your fridge ready to go and to be made into delicious things like home-made refried beans, filling for tacos, hummus....the possibilities are endless.
Get your organic dried beans from the Greener Living Co-Op and save :)