Hi!
I've been cooking beans without any horrible consequences for even those
first timers. What I do is soak overnight or quick-boil and discard
water. Then as the beans are cooking I skim off the foam which
accumulates during the first 15 minutes of boiling; then cover and let
simmer with or without ginger/bay leaves/ according to the recipe. Salt
and spices/other vegetables are always added when the beans are almost
cooked. Onions/tomatoes/ blending of some other beans, add a creamy
consistency to the dish.
To speed up the whole process, you could increase the amount of beans
soaked or quick-boiled and then freeze the excess with fresh water. The
frozen beans will cook within 20 minutes of thawing.
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