I bought fresh pinto beans in shell at local farmers market this
week...googled for recipes and see that they need to be shelled, put in
water, and boiled for 15 minutes. Then drain water, return beans to a pan
and cook with seasonings (and ripe tomatoes per one receipe I looked at)
and about 1 cup water per one lb of beans (that's 1 lb when you started);
cover and cook until beans are tender, about an hour.
However a recipe for refried beans only had initial 15 min boiling, then
short saute with oil, onion, and seasonings, then pureed with potato
masher.