Geography

You could draw a Venn diagram for how easy, inexpensive, fast-to-prepare, tasty, and satisfying this recipe is and it would resemble a single ring staining the surface of your treasured mesquite wood desk. It could happen one day when you are working from home and are so hungry and the beans smell so good and you hastily ladle a sloshy bowl and eat them right there in front of your monitor because you don't think to use a placemat.

That might be a costly mistake – handcrafted mesquite furniture isn't cheap – but at least your diagram would never be mistaken for the rings of the International Olympic Committee because trademark infringement like that could be even costlier.

Which is to say, this is just about the best recipe in the world. There are only a few ingredients and you can prepare the whole thing in three minutes in the morning and it's ready just in time for dinner.

In fact, getting the cowboys to take their boots off before getting into the pot is the hardest part. Har!

Also, this is just as tasty if you substitute liquid smoke and a spoonful of coconut oil for the bacon. Honestly though, if you don't have bacon or liquid smoke or coconut oil, don't worry and make it without. Who needs them, really? Not you and not this recipe.

• 1 pound pinto beans
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon salt-free Southwest Chipotle Seasoning blend
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 8 cups water
• 1 strip bacon OR 1 tablespoon coconut oil and 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke

The night before you make this recipe, sort through the beans to be certain there are no rocks or dirt clods. Rinse the beans and soak them in a pot of water. overnight. In the morning, before you put them in the slow cooker, bring them to a boil in a pot of water on your stove for 10 minutes. 

While the beans are boiling on the stove, add the coconut oil, onion, garlic, and seasoning to the slow cooker.

Toss in the salt and pepper, add the water. If including the strip of bacon, cut it into half-inch strips and add them to the beans. If not, add the coconut oil and liquid smoke. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours, until beans are cooked through. 

A bowl of these are yummy enough on their own, but more often than not, we'll eat this with little tacos we make with chopped onions, cilantro and avocado slices rolled up in street taco size corn tortillas.

Safety note about cooking beans at low temperatures: Since posting this originally, I have seen conflicting information about cooking beans at low temperatures. Some say cooking beans this way won't effectively remove the lectins , which can stomach problems. Others say, it's fine if you're cooking pinto beans, but not safe for kidney and some other beans.  

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, combine sugar, milk and vegetable oil. Beat the egg and stir it in. Add the vanilla. 

Fold the flour mixture into the wet mixture and stir just until everything is combined. 

Cover the bowl and let the batter rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour or as long as overnight.

When you're ready to bake the muffins, place an oven rack in the top third of the oven and preheat to 425 F.

While the oven is heating, oil a muffin tin, remove the batter from the fridge, stir in the chocolate chips and fill the muffin cups to the top. Add some water to any empty cups. Put the muffins in the oven and bake for 9 minutes before turning the oven down to 350 F. Continue baking for another ten minutes or so – don't open the oven door for at least that much time. The muffins are done when you can insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean. Note: these times are for a tin of 12 muffins.