Black Beans

[kbobam]

We haven't had any 'food' posts for a while, and this seemed like the right moment.

I just cooked black beans for the first time.

Meaning, I started from a bag of dried beans instead of the cans I'm used to.

For this first attempt I didn't add any 'extras'. Didn't even put salt in the water.

And they're really good! They have a great flavor and a better texture than the canned variety.

I can't imagine how good they'd be if prepared with some brown sugar and bacon bits.

They're also very easy to cook and very inexpensive. A real winner in my book.

And a good long soak and rinse before cooking removes most of the 'difficulties' some people have with them!

[Steph]

Good to know.

I love beans and especially black beans but have been kind of scared of cooking them from the dry version.

[ann]

Try your made-from-dry black beans ladled over a modest amount of white rice in a shallowish (pasta-type) bowl, then throw on some fresh chopped onion (I prefer Vidalia, or any sweet onion), and dribble a little (I prefer white) balsamic vinegar and good-quality olive oil over it all. As discovered in the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City (Tampa) sometime in the late 1960s, and a solid fixture in my life ever since.

Trust me on this one.

[kbobam]

Oh, Ann. We've always trusted you!

It sounds like a 'keep it simple' piece of perfection.

Steph, you have to do it! It's even easier than mac and cheese.

And if you haven't already, do the same thing with rice.

Get a big bag of the 'real' stuff that takes at least 30 minutes to cook.

There's a little bit more of a learning curve with it. You need to figure out the correct rice/water

ratio, and the proper heat level and time for your personal cooking setup. But it's worth it.

And once you've got it, you can get the same good result consistently.

There's a good reason a large percentage of the world's population eats the rice/beans combo.

The fact that it tastes good is only a small part of it.

It's actually one of the few such combinations that ensure a person is getting all their essential amino acids,

and in my opinion is hard-wired into our genes, although many of us lose track of this.

It's possibly the best nutrition you can get for the least money! That doesn't hurt, these days. ( :

[ann]

It sounds like a 'keep it simple' piece of perfection.

Making it even better is the fact that it's good hot or cold.

[lstmmrbls]

One of those 20 dollar rice cookers take all the trouble away. http://www.wikihow.com/Cook-Rice-in-a-Rice-Cooker

[kbobam]

That's a good point. I've never tried one of those.