Something about frijoles negros...

When you season a pot of black beans just right, there is no better aroma or taste in the world.... even at 7am in the morning. Especially at 7am in the morning - because really then all you can think of is huevos rancheros with a side of frijoles negros y salsa with a strong cup of black coffee. MMMMMMM. Plus it's yet another notch in my belt for my small attempt to cook all of our beans from scratch this year. When I say all of our beans, what I really mean is all of our black beans, when I can remember to start them in advance....

So anyways back to my perfect seasoning which I will happily share in the hopes that the love of black beans will spread even further than my tiny household.These beans will be used multiple ways: (1) half of the batch is going into a quinoa mango black bean salad tonight, (2) half of the batch is being frozen for later, and (3) the bean cooking liquid is being frozen separately for some other as yet unidentified incarnation.

Black Beans (in a Crock pot)
2 c. dried black beans
Enough water to liberally cover
1/2 onion, cut in half
2 tsp freshly ground cumin
2 tsp salt
3 cloves garlic, peeled
4-5 bay leaves

1. Soak beans overnight (or at least 8 hours). Rinse well.
2. Place beans in crockpot and cover liberally with water. I think I used about 8 c. of water to cover them.
3. Add in the onion, garlic, and spices.
4. Turn crockpot on low for 10 hours.
5. Enjoy.