Cooking beans from scratch is almost as easy as opening a can. It just takes a little planning ahead.

COOKING METHOD:

• Check the beans for debris by pouring them onto a white plate.
• Soak the beans overnight – 1 cup of beans to 4 cups of filtered water and 2 teaspoons of salt.
• Drain and rinse well (throwing away the water).
• Cook in salted water in the oven, covered, at 250 degrees until tender – 4 cups filtered water and 1 Tablespoon of salt

This will keep them from bursting. They can be made a couple of days ahead, so they are ready when you need them. They can also be cooked in broth and with onions and garlic (just nothing acidic like tomatoes, which will keep the beans from cooking).

There are a huge variety of dried beans available – a much bigger selection than you will find in a can. These are Eye of the Goat heirloom beans from Ranch Gordo.

Dried beans are easy keep on hand, since they don’t take up much room and don’t require refrigeration, so they are a good pantry item. They also don’t cost much, making them a good way to stretch the food budget.