This may seem obvious but a slotted spoon for straining is pretty key. I had a large one but I tended not to use it much. This is a tablespoon and very handy for lots of things, but especially for taking a big spoonful of cooked beans from the fridge and adding them to something else. Sometimes you don't want the pot liquor.

I've also used a vintage tomato server from my Patrician service but it's a little delicate. This spoon is terrific.

I made an omelet the other morning and the filling was mostly from various leftovers: lambsquarters in a chile sauce, some meat from a ham hock, nopalitos and of course it's always appropriate to add a few beans to almost everything.