Black beans with rice and tomato salsa

This is a recipe I have been making for about 25 years. It is probably the first bean recipe I actually enjoyed. You can use canned beans and dried herbs, but I prefer to used dried beans and fresh herbs. I will put the equivalents below. This recipe is also best if made a day ahead and reheated.

Black Beans with Rice and Tomato Salsa

1 ¼ cups dried black beans 1 large green pepper, diced

4 cups water 2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp salt 2 T olive oil

1 medium onion 2 medium tomatoes, chopped

4 whole cloves 3 cups cooked brown rice

1 clove garlic, crushed Tomato Salsa: recipe follows

1 tsp fresh thyme Cornbread: recipe follows

1 tsp fresh oregano

Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt

1 large onion, chopped

Sliced Oranges

Bring beans and water to boiling in a Dutch oven. Lower heat; simmer two minutes. Remove from heat; cover; let stand for one hour. Add salt and crushed garlic clove. Push cloves into whole onion and add to beans, Simmer one hour. Add thyme and oregano. Cook 30 minutes.

Sauté onion, pepper and remaining garlic in oil in a large skillet until tender. Add to bean mixture. Add chopped tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are soft. Remove one cup of bean mixture, place in blender to make thick paste. Return to Dutch oven a few minutes until sauce thickens slightly, (May be prepared ahead to this point and reheated the next day) stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Spoon rice onto plate. Top with black bean mixture and salsa. Garnish with orange slices and top with sour cream.

Equivalents:

1 cup dried beans = 2-3 cups cooked beans = 1 ½ 15.5 ounce cans

1 teaspoon of the dried herb = 1 tablespoon of the fresh

Tomato Salsa

4 Roma tomatoes, chopped

½ tsp salt

¾ cup red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T. red wine vinegar pinch of cayenne pepper

1 tsp olive oil

Mix all ingredients together and serve with black beans and rice.

Cornbread

1 cup cornmeal

2 ½ T. powdered milk

1/3 cup soy flour

1 egg

¼ cup whole wheat flour

1 cup milk

2 tsp baking powder

1 T. honey

1 tsp salt

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Cut honey until there are pea sized pieces. Beat egg and milk together. Mix with dry ingredients until just blended. Pour into greased 9” cast iron frying pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Serves six. I love to use blue corn meal for a change.