For Graham and me, the beginning of the New Year meant it was time to do some New Year’s cleaning. With preparations for the holidays and travel to visit our families, we took a bit of a hiatus from cleaning in December. As a result, when we arrived back home we found that our neglected abode was not in a state fit for welcoming in the New Year.
Despite some initial pouting from me about spending my last vacation day cleaning, we swept and mopped, scrubbed and organized for most of the day. We even went as far as to clean out and organize the pantry. In the pantry we found some interesting odds and ends that we had forgotten were there, including several cans of black beans. The cans must have been breeding in there, because neither of us was sure where they all came from.
Feeling a little uninspired by the multiple cans of beans, I thought about just stacking them up and putting them back in the pantry again. However, we were doing New Year’s cleaning, so I thought I should at least see if I had a recipe that would use up some of the cans. Low and behold I found a recipe for Cuban-style black beans that I had clipped from an old Real Simple magazine. The recipe looked pretty tasty and best of all it called for two whole cans of beans!
When we finished up all of our cleaning, I quickly whipped up a batch of the beans. Served over some brown rice and garnished with avocado and cilantro, the beans made for a nice hearty dish. The tang from the vinegar added a little zip and a dash or two of Tabasco gave the dish a spicy kick. To top it all, we were able to enjoy the beans while admiring our no longer neglected, spic and span house…!
Cuban Style Black Beans
From Real Simple
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cut into small pieces
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cans of black beans (15 ounces each)
1 cup water
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
olive oil
salt and pepper
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes until the onion and bell pepper soften. Add cumin to the mixture and cook for another minute.
Stir in black beans, water and oregano. Cover the pot and simmer mixture for roughly 10 minutes. Add the vinegar to the beans. To thicken the soup, smash several of the beans with a spoon.
Serve the beans over brown rice and garnish with cilantro and avocado slices.
Tasty Easy Healthy Green Recipe Ratings:
| Recipe Report Card | Notes About Recipe Ratings |
|
Tasty Rating Three Chefs (Average Tastiness) |
This dish was good, but not great and not as tasty as some of our other recent dishes – definitely edible, but nothing to write home about. |
|
Easy Rating
Four Easy Chairs (“ABC, Easy as 123…”) |
Chop vegetables, open some cans and heat. This is a very quick meal to pull together, with all easy to find ingredients. |
|
Healthy Rating
Five Apples (My Body is My Temple!) |
Complete with vegetables, legumes and whole grains, this dish is low in fat and a good source of protein and fiber. |
|
Green Rating
Three Leaves (Average Environmental Friendliness) |
I would say about half of the ingredients in this dish were organic (not quite meeting our New Year’s resolution here). |
Thanks so much for coming by to visit me!
Lovely place you have here. The two most recent recipes grab my attention (greenest avocado ever!), well and so do those cranberry cookies, but it’s mid-January and unfortunately I won’t be indulging on those anytime soon.