Just Me and Macy: My Refried Beans Recipe

I only have a couple of recipes I am known for: apple pie (my mom's recipe), clam chowder (Scott's mom's recipe), French onion soup, and refried beans. After a recent party, where we had a tostada bar, I had several requests for the recipe, so here it is:

Ingredients:
2 cups of mayocoba beans (one pound bag) pinto can be substituted, but mayocoba beans are coming more and more available. We even saw them at a Walmart in Arkansas. I heard that 1/2 of each kind of bean is also good, I haven't tried it yet.
2 quarts of cold water
1 head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
one can of evaporated milk
1/4-1/2 pound of shredded Mexican cheese (anything you can find, I even have used a "Mexican mix" of jack, cheddar, and longhorn)
salt and pepper

Dump the beans into a colander and pick over them and wash them. Put them in a heavy bottom large pot with the water. Add garlic and bring to the boil. Immediately reduce heat and cook slowly, undisturbed, until beans are very tender, at least three hours. Make sure water just covers the beans, you can add more hot water to cover them. Salt lightly. I have also put them in a crock pot on high for about the same time and it worked just as well if not better. Note: Stirring the beans clouds the broth. This is not bad, but not necessary. Drain the beans reserving the liquid. Heat the lard, fat, or oil in a skillet, add the warm or cool beans and garlic in batches and mash them, you can use a bit of the cooking water to get them to your desired texture (I use an immersion blender to mash them). Mix well, and once they are hot, stir in the evaporated milk and then the cheese. Add salt to taste and a lot of fresh ground pepper. Cook over very low heat, stirring frequently until everything is heated through.

Note: Beans sour if covered and refrigerated while they are still hot. If you made a big patch, cool them before storing by spreading them in a roasting pan.