This is a crock pot soup, so you can just soak the beans over night, then add all the ingredients. Let the crock pot do the rest. I chose the faster method, here. You can also do the slow method, and let it cook the whole time on low for 8 hours. This is the kind of soup the I like to make a little different, each time I make it. For example, one time I might add curry powder or Garam Masala. I might add Italian sweet sausage, and fennel seeds. I have also added lentil and barley. I stick to beef, or sausage or no meat at all, but a good sausage, like Kielbasa would be great. Shredded cabbage, and carrot too. I forgot to mention that any combination of beans or just one kind of bean is fine. It could be made hot, with the right spices. This is the nice thing about this kind of pot of food, you can play with in, and it will almost always come out good or great.