Cuban Black Beans And Rice

Up to now my exercising still leaves much to be desired, so far it's been limited to walking. One trip with Lola, about 15 minutes total and that's with stops at every little thing she wanted to sniff, not a big success. And one walk with Gilles, much better since he has no sniffing obligations ;)) One hour, 4 km.

I've been wanting to join the gym with Katrina but my shoulder (I have Calcific Tendonitis) is starting to act up again and most likely I will need to have a procedure called "Lavage" in September or October. That should be fun. Under x-ray or ultrasound (not sure which) they insert a needle into the shoulder area with the calcium build up and blast it loose, then the insert another needle to suck out the pieces.... doesn't that sound like fun!:-SS  Anyway, for now I'm supposed to take it easy which is a real PITA!!

Well, life goes on....

Last night we had Cuban Black beans and Rice. To me it's like a comfort food. In Cuba it's called Moros y Cristianos - Moors and Christians and it's a staple dish there. Once it's on my plate I mix everything up real good and it looks nothing like the picture below LOL!

You can use regular sour cream or try it with a vegan version. If you're going to do the vegan version, don't forget to use the agave syrup.

Cuban Black Beans And Rice

Serves 4-6

* Ingredients:

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
2 cans (19 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups vegetable broth

2 tbs. honey or agave syrup
1 bay leaf, broken in half
1 cup raw long-grain brown rice

2 cups water

2 tsp. canola oil or margarine

2 teaspoons red or white wine vinegar

Salsa

Sour cream or tofutti brand mock sour cream

* Directions:

Heat the oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven. Add the onion and
green pepper and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally,
until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the
garlic, chili powder, and cumin and cook, stirring, for 1 minute
until fragrant. Add the beans, broth, honey, and bay
leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer,
uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the beans have thickened to
a sauce like consistency, about 30 minutes. Remove the pieces of bay
leaf. (The beans can be made 2 days ahead to this point and
refrigerated. Reheat before proceeding.)

Meanwhile, bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium-sized
saucepan. Add the rice. Reduce the heat to low, and cook, covered,

until the rice becomes tender and absorbs the water, about 30 minutes.
Stir the vinegar into the beans. To serve, ladle the beans over or

alongside the rice. Pass a bowl of salsa and sour cream so

everyone can spoon some over the top.