A cooking lesson......dried beans- cooked in a flash!

I've been blessed with a husband who will eat anything and loves to garden. We eat simple and healthy foods all year long. (He gardens and I can/freeze the produce.) Recently, Jeff grew black beans.  I'm the kind of cook that likes to use a can opener to obtain my beans. Dry beans scare me. This is going to take planning....right?  Not at all!!

The key to quickly cooked beans is a pressure cooker. My absolute favorite tool in my kitchen is my Kuhn Rikon 7 Qt pressure cooker.  It is a dream to use. I use it as a regular pan or as a pressure cooker to make my meals in 1/3 the time.  I do have another brand of cooker but do not like it as well. We can discuss their merits at a later date if you'd like. 

Back to beans:
Usually, one must soak them overnight  before cooking.  

Add your clean beans to your pressure cooker pot.
I guesstimate that I had around 2 cups here. 
Add water to cover (My cooker needs very little water. Check your instruction manual as some need more.) Add a little salt. 

Once your cooker reaches high pressure (the second red line on mine), cook for two minutes. Remove from heat. Allow pressure to come down naturally OR
run water over cooker for fast  pressure release. 

It only takes seconds to release the pressure. Now the pan is safe to open. Don't be scared.

I skimmed off the floaters and anything else that didn't belong and tossed them in the compost bucket.
Drain the beans. Put them back into the pan and again cover with water.  Pressure cook on high for  15 minutes. My book says 10-12 minutes but I find that isn't enough.

Release pressure again; drain; and enjoy your beans! 

Cooked and ready for chili!  

Don't be afraid of dried beans…..they're really quick and easy.