Like a bean out of water...
Today, for lunch, I am finishing the end of the worst pot of beans and rice I have ever manifested in my life. Really...they sucked. If eating the food that I buy were not a part of my food activism - the whole pot would have gone to compost.
Ironically, when I was an omnivore I considered myself good at cooking beans (which I would do for much of the winter...with cornbread of course) but have realized that as a vegetarian...I have no clue. For this particular batch I used veggie broth, garlic, thyme and marjoram (YUCK!).
I was born and raised in the south you see, where beans are often cooked in chicken/beef broth and with some type of meat. Back in the day, I used turkey bacon, but was raised to cook them with fat back (yes, such a thing exists...yes, it is horribly gross and unhealthy...yes, it makes beans taste good to some folk).
So what seasonings (which do not involve an animal in any way) do you like with beans? I'm hoping some of you yanks can give this dixieland expat a helpful hint or two.