Posted By admin on November 22, 2009

The first time I had this, I wanted to eat it and eat it, and eat it, and eat it.  I made my mouth sing and my belly way too full (after 3 bowls!!).  The recipe comes from my ex-Father-In-Law, who was born in Cuba.  This is his recipe, and one I used to make quite often.  I made this last evening for some friends, and literally, there was almost nothing left.

Enjoy!

Cuban Black Beans and Rice

2 15 Ounce Cans of Black Beans (or about 3 1/2 cups of beans, soaked overnight)
4 Cups Chicken Stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 cloved garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt, to taste
Rice (See recipe below)

In a medium sized pot, heat the olive oil until fragarant and hot.  Add in the peppers and onions, and saute until onions are slightly translucent.  Add in the garlic and saute a minute longer.  Add in the 2 cans of beans, and the 4 cups of chicken stock and stir well.  Lower heat to a simmer, cover and allow to simmer for about 40 minutes.

After about 20 minutes, prepare the rice.

2 Cups rice
1 3/4 cups water
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 tablespoon butter (optional)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
a bit of Tumeric or Saffron for color, if you wish

In a small pot, add water, chicken stock, butter, salt, garlic and optional tumeric or saffron.  Bring the water/stock to a boil.  Add in the rice and stir to remove any lumps (don’t overstir it, or it can become too sticky).  Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to the lowest setting, or a low simmer for about 18 minutes. Remove from the heat.

To serve, I usually grab the soup bowls,and place a serving of rice into the bowl, and ladle the black bean mixture over the rice.

Sprinkle with a bit of freshly ground pepper.

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Category: Grains, Potatoes, Pasta, Soups | 2 Comments »
Tags: beans, black beans, cuban recipe, rice

Posted By admin on November 17, 2009

I recently saw a link, via reddit.com, which pointed to a YouTube video for “Indulge in Frugality:  Great Depression cooking with Clara“”.

Clara is a 94 year old woman, who shows how to create some frugal recipes, dating back to the Great Depression.   Her clips show her cooking, and of course how to create the recipe, but are also a great way to hear some of the history of that time.  A bag of potatoes for 1.00; growing a vegetable garden; life lessons ….. having to stop going to school because there wasn’t anything to wear; and of course, how to cook with very little.

This show has two seasons, with about ten 5-7 minute clips.  Take some time and watch.. you might be surprised at how much you learn, even outside of the recipe itself.  She has also put out a book, as well as a DVD — I’m just so impressed at the idea of her doing all these things, and feel the need to get up off my own tush and do something, too.. she is an inspiration.

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Posted By admin on November 14, 2009

My previous job kept me insanely busy and a bit too stressed out to even want to cook, let alone write anything recipe related on my blog.  There just wasn’t enough time or energy for either cooking or blogging.  But, with the new job come less hours and a hell of a lot less stress, and I finally feel bloggy!.

This weekend is a rainy one, and with Autumn full upon us here in NY, I decided to make a “comfort food” — totally full of excess calories, but isn’t that what is called for sometimes?  It’s a simple tuna casserole, like Mom used to make — nothing fancy, nothing new, but uber yummy..with extra cheese ;)

Enjoy

Tuna Noodle Casserole

2 cans tuna in water, drained
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup milk
1 cup cheddar, shredded
1 cup peas, frozen
1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms – baby ports, or white capped
1 pound pasta, cooked almost done

Mix the drained tuna, the soup, mayo, milk, cheddar, peas and mushrooms together while the pasta is cooking.  Heat the oven to 400F.

Cook the pasta until it is about 3/4 done.  Drain, and then mix with the tuna mixture.  Place in a baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes at 400F, until bubbly.

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Tags: casserole, Charlie, mushroom, tuna