Recipes

* Soak beans overnight, adding water as needed so that they remain covered at all times w/water as they plump.

* Rinse beans in cold water; add to large Dutch oven or other cooking pot.

* Add broth, as much as you wish or have on-hand, to cover beans, adding water if need be; add generous pinch or 2 of salt and bring to a rolling boil.

* Boil for 1hr, stirring frequently and adding liquid as needed to keep beans from burning but be careful to not make TOO SOUPY.

* Towards the end of the hour as beans begin to tender, begin scraping and mashing w/ricer (or immersion blender if you have one- I don't, but I have before- gave it to my kid to make smoothies when she moved out)

* At this point, beans should be beginning to thicken; reduce heat, add tomatoes and season to your liking w/garlic and onion and hot stuff; add more liquid if TOO thick as beans are not yet tender/pasty enough.

* Cover and simmer on very low heat, mashing (or blending) continuously for another hour +/- (will depend on how much beans you decided to start out with).

* Beans are done when they are all very tender and mashed up to a nice, pasty consistency; don't worry about some kidneys and blacks sneaking thru unscathed- they make for a nice texture/color contrast- the pintos and reds will mash down nicely.

* Serve over rice of your choice, maybe with a nice piece of grilled Chorizo (but then it's not vegetarian anymore)!