Chipotle Spiked Black Beans

Some people say that you are not a true chef until you can make a proper omelette.  Well, I say that at least to be a proper cook, you should be able to cook up a pot of beans.  I know it sounds easy, but for some reason I have always been scared- yes, literally scared- to cook beans.  All of that soaking, picking, rinsing, and simmering business.  What is the point when I can just open a can? 

I suppose the point is similar to that of bread baking, making your own granola, or making your own tuna salad, simply, why not make it myself?  It certainly won't hurt me and it might even build some character and teach me something new.  However you look at it, I think that making things that you could normally buy taste better if only for knowing that I made it and didn't just buy it.  It just tastes better knowing that I put in that teensy bit of effort more.

And really, it isn't like it takes 'effort' to soak some beans, right?

2c. dried black beans

....

1/2c. yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic

2T. chipotles in adobo

-Begin by measuring out the beans and sort of pick through them to make sure that there are not any bits or pieces of  debris that the machine missed.  Soak the beans in water for 6-8 hours. 

-Drain the beans and rinse them off.  Leave in their soaking bowl while you get on with sauteing the onions.  Once they begin to colour and soften, add the garlic and let this cook until the garlic colours.

-Pour in the beans, and stir in the chipotles in adobo, and about 4c. water. 

-Simmer this for 1.5-2 hours or bake in a 350f oven for the same amount of time.  If you are going the baking route, as I prefer, make sure to use a very tight fitting lid or put a puce of foil between the lid and pot. 

I prefer to bake them because I have more freedom.  I don't mind leaving the house while the oven is on, especially if I am not going far  (I can go on my jog/walks while it is baking, which excites me for some odd reason) but I don't dare leave if the stove is on. 

Also, the stove that I have is an electric model and even after cooking on the damn thing for over two years, I don't understand it and prefer to use the oven when ever I can.  It just doesn't seem to cook evenly, and it certainly doesn't adjust as quickly as a gas stove does.

This will serve probably 4-6 people, depending on how you're serving it.  They make for killer left-overs though and are nice to have around as a sort of back up meal or component to a meal.