So, in my investigation of all things bean-related (within US dry bean varietals, of course!) I have found my obsessions to be two fold....so far: 1) in what I like to call ‘the bean sheen’, which is the lovely way dry beans pick up light in such a beautiful way....after an overnight soak, they have this polished stone-like glimmer, and their natural colours start popping just like a pebble’s hidden colour comes out when you see it shining away in a little pool of water, as opposed to when dry and muted on the beach; 2) BEAN POTS!! This curvaceous earthenware is so satisfyingly plump and happy looking, especially when brimming full of beans simmering in savoury, sweet, sticky sauce.....not to mention their history in North America and all over the world.....every nation has their own version and they cook everything in the most perfect way, as the clay works to moisten the contents, whether beans, rice or otherwise to a softness and luxurious state - never too dry, never to wet. This illo is a salute to beans (I’ve got a real bean party in every pot here with navy, baby Lima, cranberry, black, adzuki, kidney and great Northern all enjoying each other’s company) and these incredibly functional, not to mention aesthetically-pleasing cooking vessels.