Burritoville

The Netscape-friendly hunt for the perfect urban food log.

Friday, October 14, 2005

How to make vegetarian pinto beans if you're desperate. Put 2 pounds of pinto beans in the largest pot you have (at least 3 quarts) and cover them with water, about 2-3 inches over the top of the beans. Soak overnight. Discard soaking water, replace with fresh and put beans on a medium flame to boil. (You might want to put a lid on the pot to speed this up, but leave it slightly ajar or your beans will boil over.) Add one finely chopped onion, four garlic cloves and about a tablespoon of salt. (You can substitute a tablespoon of boullion if you like.) Boil, partially covered, for about 90 minutes, or till the beans are tender. These freeze nicely, by the way, and are a heck of a lot cheaper than canned if you're trying to save money. Once they're thawed, they practically fall apart and are very easy to turn into refritos.