Most of my good food memories come from my grandparents. And the creamy, starchy taste of pinto beans always figures prominently in those home movies of my mind. Read more of this essay…
This recipe will serve a room full of company, or a small family with enough to freeze for later.
2 lbs dried pinto beans
½-lb. [...]

My earliest food memory belongs not to me, but to my mother.
Half complaint, half Sunday afternoon tale, she would recount for those gathered in the living room the time my grandpa fed me so many pinto beans, I was up all night with stomach cramps. She would shake her head and give a rueful laugh. [...]