Rice and Beans

My 'breakfast' last night was eaten at dinner. Overall it turned out good, especially for my first time making this. I've only recently (within the last year and half) started liking beans. I love it because it requires little effort, even though total prep/cooking time is long. But it smells wonderful as it cooks and when the foreplay is finally over, you can dig right in.



1/2lb dried black beans, soaked overnight
2cups water, for soaking beans
2cups water, for cooking beans
1 medium tomato, skin removed, chopped
4 strips bacon, chopped
2tsp finely chopped ginger
2 cloves garlick, minced
2 bay leaves
2tsp paprika
1tsp cayenne
1tsp chili powder
1tsp olive oil
kosher salt to taste

Serves 2-3

Soak the beans overnight. Combine all the ingredients in a pot (minus salt). Bring all the contents to a boil and simmer for ~3 hours or until liquid has evaporated and beans are tender. Salt to taste. Make rice. In a bowl, add beans with rice and a little vinegar. Eat.

Very simple. The bacon adds so much to the dish and removes the need to add salt. Everything else sort of just melts together to create this wonderful aroma and taste. I sort of also wished I had some japanese picked radish as it would have been the perfect compliment to this dish.

Cooking in the morning

The hard thing about cooking in the morning is the waking up. Its especially disappointing when you start preparing the night before. Last night I had a craving for rice and beans. I figured it would make a nice breakfast or possibly even lunch. So I cleaned the kitchen, prepped the ingredients, soaked the black beans, and set the alarm clock for 5am. Just early enough to get the beans cooking slowly and be ready right before I needed to head to work. Unfortunately, I slept through 2 alarms and ended waking up right when I needed to head out. Sometimes things just aren't meant to be. I guess I'll have to wait for dinner in order to have my breakfast. Thankfully, beans and rice are good for any meal.