{companions} lazy day pinto beans

photo by amy twomey

There is nothing like a cold winter weekend and staying inside all-weekend-long... cooking soups and beans and warm deserts. It is hot here in Texas, really really hot, so we dream about cold lazy days quite often. I am looking forward to January. January seems to be the month of staying in and cooking more then usual. Pinto beans are all day gig for me. My recipe is as simple as they get, it is all about cooking the beans all-day. We always have plenty of left overs to make re-fried beans the next day. I love my pinto beans in a soup consistency.

lazy day pinto beans by amy twomey

ingredients
2 small bags of dried pinto beans.
4-5 cloves of chopped garlic
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 of a 12 oz can of tomato puree
1 32 oz box of Pacific organic free range chicken broth

Wash beans well and add them to a pot full of water covering the beans. Bring pot to a boil and turn of heat and let sit covered for one hour. Drain the beans with water washing them very well and placing them back in the empty pot after soaking. Be sure beans are well covered with fresh water and bring them back to a boil this time adding chopped garlic, lots of salt and 3/4 of a can of tomato puree. Let boil, then turn to low heat for the rest of the day. When the water begins to soak up stir and add in a bit of the chicken broth until the box is all in the beans. Stir frequently. I add salt as I go and pepper and if you like cilantro you can add a bundle wrapped in string for extra flavor but I prefer the beans with just the salty garlic flavor. This bean is a very simple bean, very fresh and healthy. I have a great bean soup recipe that calls for bacon, but this recipe is not that. Sometimes I throw in a few extra cloves of garlic whole for an extra garlic flavor if you are a garlic lover. I cook the beans for about 6 hours, you can get away with 4 if you are crunched for time but 6 is perfection. Be sure to add broth or water as needed to keep it a soupy brothy consistency.