Frijoles refritos

Rinse the beans and pick out any rocks or debris.

Cook a pound of beans with the liquid: two hours more or less at a bare simmer on the stove top, or one hour in the pressure cooker.

Cover the pot partially on the stove top, and check every 15 to 20 minutes that the liquid is still above the beans, topping up with hot water as needed.

Variation: soaking overnight is optional; they cook quicker if soaked, and pouring off the soaking liquid is said to make them more digestible.

Finish with just enough juice to barely cover the beans.

Stir in two heaping teaspoons of salt and let it cook in while the vegetables are prepped.

Chop the onion and mince the garlic very fine.

Heat about a quarter cup of bacon drippings over medium high heat, add all the chopped onion and cook until completely soft and starting to brown.

Add the garlic for a minute or so, then turn off the heat and add the beans with a slotted spoon in two or three additions, mashing with a potato masher between each.

Mash to the texture wanted, leaving a few whole beans; for the Oaxacan style blend to a smooth paste instead.

Stir in the reserved bean juice, about a cupful, to loosen them, then simmer a little longer or let them thicken as they cool.

Serve from the cast iron skillet, covered, which holds them warm.