I recently borrowed my daughter's rice cooker - had a great time with it.
I cooked rice, of course, also barley and brown(green) lentils -
separately, using the same 2 parts water:1 part grain or beans. All
turned out fine.
Then I decided to try black beans. Brought them to a boil with water to
cover an inch or so, turned off the machine and let them soak for
2 hours,
drained some of the water and added more to cover by an inch, turned on
the machine - covered the top with a tea towel to catch any mess (of
which
there was a bit)
Lo and behold: cooked black beans (but the pan liner will never be the
same. Black bean dye is strong.
Today I'm trying garbanzoes and then white navy beans. Garbanzoes are
cooking as I write. For this experiment, I soaked the beans overnight,
then added them (one kind at a time) to the rice cooker, again with enough
water to cover by about an inch.
Then I freeze the stuff in about 2-3 cup portions - for "instant"
ingredients when I actually feel like cooking.
Barb B