elaine wrote:
> "OmManiPadmeOmelet" > wrote in message

>>Were they old beans?
>
>
> YES! I bet that was the problem.


Aha! I read through the whole thread to see if anyone else thought of
this. In my experience, the freshness of the beans makes all the
difference. When I used to teach health food cooking, this was always
the trouble when people would tell me that the beans never got soft
despite hours of cooking. They'd buy the beans and put them away for
"some day" when they got around to learning how to add beans to their
diet. By the time they got around to it, the beans might be years old.
I'd always suggest that they buy more from the supermarket where the
turnover is high instead of the specialty health food market.


The old beans can be planted. They make nice house plants, grow in any
sort of soil, grow quickly, and produce green beans.


--Lia