Ingredients

Step One: Soak Beans
• 1 1/2 cups dried black beans, picked over and rinsed
• very warm water to soak
Step Two: Crockpot
• 4 cups organic chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion (or use green onions!)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp all-purpose dried herb seasoning (I like Simply Organic brand)
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh organic cilantro
• Optional: 2 uncooked strips of uncured, nitrate-free bacon

Instructions

Step One: Soak Beans
1. The afternoon/evening before you plan to serve the beans, place dried beans in colander and pick through them removing any small stones or other foreign matter.
2. Rinse the beans well and place in a large glass bowl, or remove your ceramic crockpot from its base and soak directly in the crockpot.
3. Add about four times the volume of very warm water to beans. (I use a combo of half "almost boiling" water to room temp water.)
4. Place bowl (or ceramic crockpot) in your oven with the oven light on and the door closed for 8-12 hours. (You might want to leave a post-it on your oven door to remind you not to turn on your oven – trust me – been there done that! Ha ha!)
5. If you have time, ideally, it's best to drain the beans, rinse them and put them back through this same soak process again (which would extend the soak time and help to further reduce phytic acid, and further increase digestibility).
Step Two: Crockpot
6. Once the beans are finished soaking, drain them, rinse them thoroughly and put them in the crockpot with the above ingredients.
7. Set crockpot on low and cook for about 8-10 hours.
8. Remove strips of bacon before serving.

Notes

Ingredients

• 8-10 small Yukon gold potatoes (or use a mix of red and gold potatoes)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp thyme
• 1/8 tsp rosemary
• 1/8 tsp parsley
• 1/8 tsp fresh-ground pepper
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• Optional: For an extra delicious twist, toss in some carrots!

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Use a stoneware rimmed baking sheet, or line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cut potatoes into wedges by quartering them. Place on a large clean dish towel and pat dry with another dish towel or paper towels.
3. If desired, cut carrots into 2-inch pieces. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, or gallon-size baggie, combine all ingredients, except veggies. If using a baggie, rub the bag between your hands to combine the ingredients and evenly distribute them throughout the bag.
5. Place potato wedges (and carrot pieces, if using) in the bowl (or bag) and toss well to coat.
6. Place veggies on lined baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned and cooked through.

Notes