recommended by Marcelaine Tanner

This is my favorite recipe for beans. I got it from my sister-in-law, who shared it on our family recipe blog, heritagerecipes.blogspot.com. I used to think beans were bland, but with this combination of spices I am happy to eat them all by themselves for lunch. You can use the beans in any recipe that calls for beans. Beans also freeze well. I make a double batch and freeze the beans in one-cup portions, which I pull out whenever I need them for a recipe.

2 cups pinto beans (or any beans), sorted and washed
2 tsp. granulated garlic powder
1 tsp. parsley
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried cilantro (or 1 1/2 tsp. fresh cilantro)
1/4 tsp. cumin seeds
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
6 cups water
6 bouillon cubes, either chicken or beef
2 tsp. crystallized ginger, chopped (or 1/8 tsp. ginger)–the ginger helps reduce the gas-producing effect of beans

Rinse the beans–the easiest way to do this is to put them in a colander and spray them with the sprayer on your sink. Soak the beans. You can do this by placing them in plenty of water and leaving them for about eight hours. A faster way is to put the beans in a pot on the stove with 6 cups of water, bring it to a boil, then turn the stove off and let the beans sit for 1-2 hours.

After soaking the beans, rinse them again. Return the beans to the pot and add all the spices and the 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat so that the water is just simmering (I turn the knob to 1 or 2 on my stove). Let the beans cook until they are soft–usually this takes 1 1/2 hours, but it depends on the beans.

If you want refried beans, mash the beans using a mixer, blender, or potato masher, adding a little of the cooking water if needed.