Black beans with ginger and cilantro (crockpot!)

This is my new favorite way to eat black beans.  The beans in this recipe are both rich and mild, with different seasoning from your typical Mexican restaurant. After eating something similar at a friend's house a few days ago, I realized I had to try to recreate the magic for myself in the crockpot.  You will need, approximately:

• Dry black beans (1-1 1/2 cups)
• 1 spoonful of turmeric
• 2 spoonfuls ginger
• 1/2 spoonful cinnamon
• 3 spoonfuls dried cilantro
• 1 spoonful salt
• dash chili powder
• 1 spoonful of oil (either olive or vegetable)

1. Check the beans for impurities, then rinse and drain them, and put them in the crockpot.
2. Add the spices and oil.
3. Add 5-6 cups of water.
4. Cook on high until beans are tender, the time will vary depending on the crockpot you use.  In my 1.5 qt Chefmate model from Target, the cooking time was about 5 hours.  If you are going to leave the house during the cooking time and/or you are just learning to use the crockpot, cook on low instead - the cooking process will take a bit longer but you can be sure that nothing will burn!
5. Taste, and add extra spices/salt if necessary.
6. Enjoy!

Note on crockpots: you want to be sure that your crock is at least 1/2 full so that nothing burns, and it's better to aim for a 2/3-3/4 full crockpot.  If you have a larger crockpot and want to make this recipe, you should probably scale the food quantities accordingly.