[Kitchen Witch]

LET'S TALK BEANS..............

Crockpots are the up-to-date electric cousins of the old bean pot making them ideal for cooking beans and creating that old-fashioned taste of Grandmother's bean pot!

Most directions for cooking beans suggest the long soaking method. If you cannot soak the beans overnight, you can add 6 cups of water to one pound of beans; bring to a boil; simmer 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover; let stand for one hour. Then follow recipe directions for cooking beans.

Many bean recipes can be cooked longer than the times indicated or they may even be cooked one day and re-heated in the crockpot the next day.

For saucy beans, do not pour off any of the liquid in which the beans were soaked - leave as much juice in the pot as possible during the long cooking process.