Susan,
Soak the beans overnight with enough water to just about cover the beans
two inches above the beans.
The next day boil them until they're soft.
The directions on cooking the things are on the package but nobody, it
seems, believes that is that easy.
Joanne Saltzman in her wonderful book "Romancing the Bean" says that 1
dry cup equals 2-1/2 cups of cooked beans. Nutritional profile, 20g
protein, 61g carbohydrates, 5g fat, and 7 mg sodium.
Personally, I do use a pressure cooker. BUT I STILL PRE-SOAK
OVERNIGHT. When cooking those wonderful orbs of delight, take nothing
for granted. Then I use 2-1/2 parts liquid to 1 part beans (again from
Joanne Saltzman's book).
Then I cook them for about an hour in two stages.
First I cook them for about 30 minutes, release the pressure, stir them,
and cook for another 30 minutes.
Depending on how dry the beans were before you get a chance to cook
them, it can take as long as 12 hours to cook them, but I've seldom had
to cook them longer than two to three hours.
Is it worth going through all that fuss when you can buy 'em in cans?
You BETCHA!
--
Beverly Kurtin
http://www.startext.net/homes/show
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