Presoak beans. Drain. Combine dry ingredients and mix with beans; stir in other ingredients. Pour into 1 1/2 qt. or 2 qt. baking dish or bean pot. [Obviously, if you double the recipe like I did, you'll need a bigger pot :-] Pour in boiling water to cover. Cover. Bake at 300 degrees for 6 hours; add a bit of boiling water if needed. (Crock-pot method: cook on low 8-10 hours.) Comments: I just dumped everything on top of the beans and stirred them; then covered them with hot tap water. They took a lot longer than 10 hours to cook, but that might have been due to too-low heat on the crockpot. (Also, reportedly vinegar and other acid substances need to be added at the end of cooking else they'll make the beans tough.) These beans were *really* good. The caramelized onions were even better. I've enjoyed the beans plain, with barbecue sauce, and with spinach and corn added.