Bean Boilin'

And speaking of saving money, we should all be boiling our own beans instead of buying them in cans. They taste better, have less waste, store easier, and will make you less farty. It's TRUE! Start by putting your dried beans (whatever type you want since they all cook the same way...these are garbanzos) in a big 'ol bowl:
Cover them with water...lots of water. Feel free to fill that baby up to the brim! As the beans absorb the moisture they will swell dramatically, sometimes emerging up from the water like some kind of freaky monster and then drying out. So, fill 'er up and leave the bowl to sit overnight. And no matter what anyone tells you, skipping this soaking step is NOT an option unless you want to send everyone running for the door with your toot gas.

When you're ready to boil these babies, dump out the soaking water and give them a quick rinse. Then, fill the pot back up with LOTS of water and throw it on the stove. Crank it up to high, but don't go too far away...

Eventually, your pot will start to look like this:
A giant head of fart foam has appeared. Skim this shit off. You may need to do it a few times, but you'll thank yourself.

Turn your burner down to medium high, add a bay leaf (again to lessen the tooty situation), and let the beans simmer for about 2 hours or until they're nice and tender. When they're ready, drain any excess water and start thinking about bean recipes. Look at all this bounty:
I see endless hummus in that pot...Fanfreakin'tastic. Any unused beans can be easily frozen for later use.

Sweet.