I had planted black coat runner beans more for the hummingbirds and other pollinators that would visit my garden. This is my first year growing so I'd like some information on what to do with them. I had left the bean pods on the vines to dry naturally.

A) when should I pick them? Are the pods hard to get into?

B) do you use them for cooking? How is the flavor? And if I'm recipe looking what would I be looking for a similar bean ingredient and just replace?

C) and if it's usable for cooking, best way to store them?

Thanks for your help! I found they were a good climber and the red flowers were a nice attractor, in fact the dry beans were such a pretty color before I planted that they'd just be pretty sitting out.