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55 Ingredients • 2-3 cups beans, any kind • lots of water basic home-boiled beans The first thing you’ll notice when you shop for beans is that there are two kinds, dried and canned. The second thing you’ll notice is that the cooler people are walk- ing straight past those colorful cans and into the more subdued corner of the grocery store: the dry goods section. This is where the real party’s at, because you can buy way more beans for the price of one sad can of Bush’s Best, which was probably packed more than a year ago. Dry beans will run you less than 6,000 won and there’s a multitude of varieties to tempt your palette: basic black, red, white and pinto beans are available along with some flashier ones like Anasazi, calypso and appaloosa. The cooking strategy is virtual- ly the same no matter the bean, and they’re also much easier to digest and less likely to cause gas. So you can cook whatever you want and not even make your fellow commuters glance around in disgust. Bonus! Dump the beans in a big bowl, cover them with at least 2 inches of water and place the bowl in the fridge over- night to soak. This step requires a little bit of prepara- tion, but trust me, you shouldn’t skip it unless you want to send your friends running for the hills — beans that aren’t soaked before cooking, like the kind you get in a can, cause lots and lots of farts. Soaked beans do not. The next day, drain the beans and rinse them well (and don’t skip this step either; see the above reason why boiling beans in their soaking water can cause notable awkwardness). Pour the beans into your biggest pot and add as much water as possible to allow for a full rolling boil without going over and then crank up the heat. You can put a lid on the pot to help speed things up, but don’t go too far away; eventually, a huge head of foam will ap- pear on the surface of the water and you’ll need to skim it off before it makes a big ol’ mess. Some kinds of beans will create a whole lot of foam, so you might have to do this two or three times to finish a full batch. Once you’ve got a really rockin’ boil, turn the burner down to medium and cook for at least an hour, uncovered. Cooking time will vary widely according to the kind of bean you’re working with, but as a general rule you should check for doneness after 60 minutes and then at 30-minute intervals after that. Also, keep in mind that if you see the water level dropping you can always dump in some extra, no sweat. When the beans are soft — and you’re ogling at all the potential soups and salads and dips and veggie burgers in front of you — reserve whatever you need for that day’s recipe and spread the rest out on a cookie sheet. When they’re cool, bag ‘em up and freeze for a future glorious (and fartless) winter’s eve.