Alison’s Refried Beans (no dairy, no nightshades)

Ingredients

Dried beans (or canned beans)

1 onion

3-6 garlic cloves

2 tsp cumin (optional)

1 slice of orange peel (optional)

~4 cups water or broth

Salt

Oil for cooking

Steps (For dry beans start here -- for canned, skip to step 8)

1) Pour out the beans into a bowl and rinse them (and check for debris)

2) Fill up the bowl and soak the dry beans overnight

3) Drain the beans

4) Roughly chop the garlic and onions

5) Heat a large pot with enough oil in the bottom to sauté the onions and garlic

6) Once the onions turn translucent, pour in the drained beans and enough broth or water to cover the beans with about an inch of liquid (This is when you’d add the orange peel & the cumin, if you want).

7) Bring the whole concoction to a boil, and simmer for around 4 hours. (You could probably get away with less time, but I like my beans really stewed, so I go for a long time)

(For canned beans start here)

8) Heat a skillet with some oil in the bottom

9) If using canned beans: sauté onions and garlic

10) Drain the beans, but reserve the bean juice for later (it’s important)

11) Pour the drained beans into the skillet and start stirring and frying them up

12) Start mashing the beans with your spatula or a potato masher

13) Add some of the bean juice you saved earlier to get the creaminess consistency you like

14) At this point, you could be done, but if you like your beans restaurant-smooth, you should put them in a blender (careful with the steam) and pulse it until it’s all smooth.

15) Eat the beans & enjoy!