Beans, beans, the magical fruit......the more you eat......the more you....

Come on sing along if you know the words.  My grandfather used to sing the bean song to us when we would eat them, and now I sing it to my older daughter who just hates it.   The song and the beans, along with her brother, and her father.  Which is fine with me, because then there are more for me, and my littlest GP who loves them as much as I do.

Yesterday for Cinco de Mayo I made grilled chicken tacos.  No recipe just rubbed them down with a bit of spices, grilled them on my Foreman grill, yes I said my Foreman grill.  Apartment remember? With those tacos I made oven roasted corn from the farmers market, yum.  And yes, corn again this week, it's the only vegetable we all like.  I also made my favorite black beans, Frijoles De Lata.

I lived in Miami for about 4 years, maybe a little more.  I loved the food in Miami, so many different cultures to choose from.  One of my favorites was the Cuban food.  I worked downtown, and little Cuban cafe's were plentiful.  Cafe con Leche, (cuban coffee with milk) and pastelitos with guava and cheese were my usual breakfast.  Afternoon snack of ham croquetas, but my favorite was dinnertime, mojo marinated grilled chicken breast with sweet caramelized plantains, and black beans and rice.  Mmmmmmmm....I could eat that every day........how I miss authentic Cuban food.

Lucky for me I met a Cuban friend on a message board, and she shared a recipe for black beans.  She called them "quick and easy black beans."  I'm all for quick and easy, cause soaking and cooking beans is not my thing.  The first time I tried them it brought me back to the days when I lived in Miami.  They tasted exactly the way a little cafe from around the corner from where I worked made them.  They are so flavorful and easy, I make them often.  Serve them over top of white rice and you have a perfect side dish, or if you are a vegetarian, a complete meal.  I've been told by my Cuban friends, everyone has a different recipe for black beans and rice, and everyone thinks theirs is the best, well here is mine.  Are they the best? Absolutely.

Now if I could only get the sour oranges for mojo, and how to cook the plantains properly.........or find them in my store.

Frijoles De Lata (quick and easy black beans)

1/2 cup pure Spanish olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1 medium size green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 large , ripe tomato, chopped, or 1/2 cup chopped and drained canned whole tomatoes
Two 16-ounce cans black beans, with their liquid
1/2 cup Cuban beef stock, canned beef broth or water
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Few dashes of Tabasco sauce, optional
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, optional
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Chopped onion, minced fresh parsley, or minced fresh coriander
for garnish (cilantro)


In a medium-size saucepan over low heat, heat the oil until it is fragrant, then cook the garlic, onion, and bell pepper, stirring, until tender, 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook another 10 minutes. Add the beans, stock, cumin, Tabasco, and vinegar, stir to blend, correct the seasonings, and simmer, covered, until heated through, 20 minutes.

Garnish and serve with beans hot over Arroz Blanco (white rice)
Recipe courtesy of Gail CL board


Enjoy!