Kiko’s House, my home blog, can now certainly be considered middle aged. After all, it has been eight and a half years since it toddled into the blogosphere. One of the things of which I am most proud is that on an average day nearly half of all visitors to the blog are as a result of Google searches for a particular topic of interest.
The leading search topic by far is this post on the cancer epidemic in American Golden retrievers, which gets over 100 pageviews a day and has generated nearly 200 comments since its initial publication in 2006, most from people who have lost their beloved Goldie to cancer and find some comfort in being able to share their grief. The third leading topic, with a scant 10 or so pageviews a day, is this post on the true story of the Black Dahlia Avenger, which is L.A. Confidential for real.
Anyhow, the second leading search topic is my recipe for Jamaican-style black beans, first published in 2008, which draws about 15 lost souls a day. People who have eaten these black beans say they are to die for although, to my knowledge, I haven’t killed anyone who has eaten them.
This recipe works on several levels. If you refrain from drinking the rum you don’t use in the recipe, the ingredients are inexpensive. It’s easy and quick to make, and nutritious. And the result freezes and thaws beautifully, which means I can make a big batch and put most of it away for use weeks or months later.
INGREDIENTS 6 tablespoons cooking oil
2 medium red onions, chopped
4 medium red and green bell peppers, seeded and diced (*)
6 medium-sized celery stalks, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons crushed oregano
6 cups Goya or other brand pre-cooked black beans, drained
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons orange juice
4 tablespoons dark rum
Salt and pepper to taste(*) If you like it hot, substitute one pepper with two to four green chilies
DIRECTIONSIn a large iron skillet or heavy saucepan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Add peppers and celery, cook 3 minutes longer. Add cumin and oregano and cook briefly, stirring. Add beans, lemon juice, orange juice, rum and salt and pepper to taste and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Add water to thin the mixture as necessary to a desired consistency. Simmer, covered, for 25 minutes, or longer if you prefer the beans to be softer.
There is no limit to the number of ways you can serve these: As a stew. On rice. As a side dish with shrimp. Atop Mexican-style nachos. Wrapped in flour tortillas or as a quesadilla filling, both with Monterey jack cheese. As a hors d’ouvre with toasted ciabatta bread. And so on and so forth.