Saturday, August 27, 2011

Cookin' for the 'Cane

So Irene is coming eh? Better get prepared! How better to prepare than to cook black beans?! Everyone loves black beans, but how many people do you know just eat them straight out the can?  I can name a few...and I secretly want to slap these people (I guess that's not so secret anymore).  I have never in my life had beans straight out the can, and never felt the urge.  How can people stomach something so flavorless? I am not asking anyone to go through the soaking  and boiling of  uncooked beans (even though there is magic in this), but  a quick meal can still be something special.  Flavorful black beans are simple and only take about 30min to make.  If you want to cut time even more, use a food processor or vegetable chopper to do all your chopping.  But please friends, don't let me catch you heating up beans straight from the can.  You deserve better.

Try this recipe and let me know what you think about those canned beans now.  I'm sure these beans will kick your straight-from-the-can beans' ass.

Missy's Black Beans

1 15oz can of Black Beans
1 medium sized onion (chopped)
1 green pepper (chopped)
3-4 cloves of garlic (minced)

spices:
bay leaf
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp chili powder
salt to taste

the necessaries:
1 Tbsp of Red Wine
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp of vinegar


1) Saute chopped veggies and bay leaf in olive oil and when they are nearly cooked through add in the spices.
2) Add in some of the water from the can of beans and simmer for 5 min.
3) Now add in the beans and the water and stir well.  Depending on how much water is included in the can, you may want to add about 1/4 cup additional water. Also add in red wine. Let simmer for 20-30min until sauce thickens.
4) Add in vinegar right before serving.





Okay, the food is supposed to be non-perishable so maybe I have failed.  I'd like to think I was making an offering.  Oh please Irene, take these black beans and spare me the darkness! You know, the coming howling winds and power outages.  But I've done more than just cook...



Illuminate!
I'm armed with a flashlight...















This is sorta ridiculous...
toilet water reserve...













Keepin' those mucus membranes moist! (yes, bad medical joke)

                                        






and drinking water!









I'm ready Irene! Bring it on!



2 comments:

  1. Oh dear, oh dear, please don't slap those out of the can eaters, they don't know any better. LOL

    Your recipe sounds tasty. I mostly cook the dry beans in a crock pot and add the seasoning and vegetables (yellow, red, green bell peppers and onions and garlic) when they have cooked through. I hate canned beans of any sort. Most of them have too much salt.

    But I haven't tried the wine, vinegar or sugar in the beans I bet that taste good too. I don't cook with sugar or wine, so any suggestions? Or should I just leave this out of the recipe. I want to try your recipe.

    What's that in the tub? Water? LOLOLOL I suppose I should not laugh especially if it really is needed later I'd feel like a heel.

    Okay stay safe friend. God Bless.

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  2. Hey C. I love making the dry beans! It's the best way by far, because you can get such a good flavor. But in the sake of time, canned beans at whole foods are salt free! So if you want to try this recipe with the canned beans, organic options usually have no salt added.

    Sometimes the minimal gravy that goes along with these beans takes to a little sugar; just a little sugar can go a long way. And I do mean little, because you don't want sweet. It's almost as if the sweet counters the spicy, a good balance. I forgot to add that i do a couple shakes of Louisiana hot sauce in this. There is vinegar in that hot sauce, so no overkill on it or with the vinegar at the end it will have a bad flavor. I made this mistake once and wanted to chuck the whole batch.

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