I have a confession to make: I always use canned beans. Once in college Todd's roommate James got excited about making a pot of beans, and I remember a too-small pot simmering on the back burner of the stove for what seemed like the entire day. I wondered how he had the patience to wait for the beans to be done. Whenever I've tried to recreate the experience (OK, the one time), I've ended up with chalky, mushy beans (try coming up with that combo on purpose). But now that I'm confined to slow-cooker meals, I thought I'd try again, but this time I soaked them overnight (instead of using the quick-soak method) and then put them in the slow-cooker for 8 hours.

First, I was astounded by how quickly a pound of dried black beans soaks up water. I had put them in a bowl and covered them by about 2 inches with water, and when I looked an hour later the water level was below the level of the beans (so I added more water). Let it sit overnight, then drained the beans and put them in my slow-cooker with a 15-ounce can diced Italian-style tomatoes, 2 chopped bell peppers, 1 chopped onion, 2 minced jalapenos, 4 minced garlic cloves, a tablespoon each cumin and chipotle chili powder, a teaspoon each cinnamon and dried oregano, lots of salt and 1 ounce chocolate chips. I didn't think there'd be enough liquid, but there was, and after 8 hours on low the beans had a great texture, firm and toothy. Topped them with rice, Frank's hot sauce, sour cream, Cheddar cheese and scallions. Have about 6 cups of beans left, so we'll be eating bean burritos, soup, etc. all week.

I like using the slow-cooker for things like this, that need gradual, gentle heat for a long time. I saw a couple of recipes for steamed pudding in a slow-cooker, which seems like another natural use, along with braising meats, cooking beans, caramelizing onions. What about other low, slow-needs foods, like cheesecakes and custards? I don't know how I feel about doing things like meatloaf or lasagna, which take 10 times longer in the slow-cooker but don't seem to benefit from the technique. There's a million slow-cooker or crockery cookbooks out there - anyone know a good one? One that doesn't have a single recipe that includes a can of cream soup?