ANASAZI BEANS

I've noticed varieties of beans in our supermarket over the past couple of months that I have not seen before. These are Anasazi Beans, milled in Colorado. To quote from the back of the bag,"Anasazi Beans were one of the few crops cultivated by the Anasazi Indians. "Anasazi" is a Navajo word meaning "ancient ones". The Anasazi Indians are best identified for their architechtural achievements known today as cliff dwellings, and inhabitated these structures as early as 130A.D. Today these structures can be seen at areas such as Mesa Verde National Park, located in Southwestern Colorado. Anasazi Beans are faster cooking, with a sweeter flavor, and can be used for all bean dishes such as chile, baked, soups and Mexican foods."
They really were quicker cooking. I didn't pre-soak them, and I didn't time them, but they were done long before I expected them to be done. I added bacon and rough cut garlic cloves to them. Usually I saute the bacon, but this time I didn't. Although I don't think anyone would really notice the difference from pinto beans, if you didn't call it to their attention, they had a very slight, occassional cinnamon taste to me. I also cooked some cornbread muffins to go with them.
Although we probably won't have them again, since they are quite a bit more expensive than pinto beans, it was fun to try them.