This Cuban day began with beans of all things. An old co-worker used to talk about Sundays spent 'making beans.' His grandmother would make us a huge crock pot of the most delicious ones ever for holiday potlucks. They seemed to be an art in his family, and over time, I was desperate to know the way too. A part of me didn't feel assimilated into Colorado culture without first conquering, 'the making of the beans.' The love affair with the idea began last year and it was just today that I finally took it on.
It's best to let you know that I have the heritage of a very white, Midwestern family. To me, that is defined by dinners of beef strogannoff and tuna noodle casserole. Side dishes were Jiffy cornbread and pillsbury cresent rolls (the ones that 'pop' out of the can) and certainly not beans. Well, unless they were in chili of course, which those beans came from a can. The point is, never before had I touched a dried bean...until today.
My goal was to take the bag of dried beans I courageously bought last week and make them the centerpiece of dinner. If all went well, AMC would rave, saying as he usually does when rice and beans are on his plate, "I could eat this every day." Those are the magic words, the ones you shoot for---success.
The Making of the Beans
here's how it all went down for me.
Step 1: 8 a.m. Soak the full bag beans in a bowl full of water for 8 hours.
*go out on errands
*upon arriving home at 2, I noticed that the beans had doubled in size, almost overflowing their bowl. A transfer to a larger bowl was necessary. Note to self: next time, use a bigger bowl at the start.
* around evening time, AMC called and asked if I was up for a Palma's session. I was, and honestly, most days I would be. Palmas is a cigar and wine shop a few blocks away. The owner, Clay, travels to the Dominican Republic every 12 weeks to gather the tobacco leaves for the cigars that he hand rolls and sells. It's a fantastic little place that feels just like Cuba might, with dark turquoise walls that peel in just the right places, and vintage, brass light fixtures. His cigar rolling table is right up front, and his old fashioned 2 seat barber shop is in the back. How does a person decide to open up a barbershop/cigar store? I asked. (because I always have to.) He said that while growing up in the 50's, every other Saturday his mother would send he and his brother to the downtown barbershop, where the men would smoke cigars and chat while a black and white TV played the current ballgame. It was the epitome of cool to him, and it stuck... making Las Palmas what it is today. We told him that being there transports us to another country, on vacation. He said the decor of the place was inspired from a weekly calendar book of Cuba. He had the book there to show us, a Taschen, filled with fancy houses with courtyards and magnificent chandeliers. One particular photo showed an older, dark skinned woman talking on the telephone, leaning on the sill of her house window, smoking a full sized cigar. Cuba seems to have an off the beaten path sort of beauty, and Las Palmas certainly captured it too.
After a glass of Colorado red wine (who knew?) and a cigar shared, we headed home. And I got straight to the beans.
Step 2: Drain water from soaked beans and empty into a saucepan with chicken broth at boiling tempurature. Meanwhile, cook bacon in a pan, adding diced onion, jalapeno and tomato, cooking for 3 minutes. Add to beans mixture.
Step 3: Boil for 1 hour. This is where the nuturing comes in. Add fresh cilantro, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder and coriander to taste. Also, stir often. You will notice the sauce getting nice and think over time.
Step 4: Viola! serve with rice and a salad.
It truly is that easy! Not to mention healthy and delicious!
A Cuban day well done.
p.s. check out the bonus spotted on the way home... shaggy dog. I bet he's Cuban.
