Last night we put some dried beans to soak, so they could go in a soup today. The main part of the soup was made by boiling some veg (potato, carrot, onion, garlic, butternut squash, herbs) in chicken stock. When the veg had gone soft, everything was put in a liquidiser.

I started cooking the beans by boiling them for 10 or so minutes in water. They then needed an hour or so of slow simmering so I decided it would be easier to do that in the soup rather than in another pan of water. Unfortunately our pans didn't seem to be up to the job. They aren't cheap rubbish pans - they are stainless steel with copper bottoms, so the heat should distribute evenly and prevent localised burning. The trouble is the pans aren't non stick. The beans would sink to the bottom of the soup mixture and just sit there, eventually sticking to the bottom of the pan. I needed to get up and stir every few minutes to stop everything from sticking and burning.

Next time I think I'll simmer the beans in water or stock, rather than a thick soup. Or cheat and open a tin of mixed beans instead.