1. Place all ingredients (except for liquid smoke) into a big pot and cover with about 1 1/2" water. Bring everything to a boil, then cover and simmer for 2 hours.
2. Drain your beans in a metal colander and pick out the bay leaves. Place your cooked bean and onion mixture into a food processor along with the liquid smoke and let it do its magic for a minute or two until nice and creamy.
3. Taste and see if additional salt is needed and don't ruin your beans by over-salting them!
See you don't need oil or lard to make creamy refried beans, just use a food processor!
Source of recipe: My blog: http://veganluvies.blogspot.com/2010/11/vegan-mofo-smokey-refired-beans.... [1]