arroz con habichuelas guisadas

Beans

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 c chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 heaped tbsp sofrito
• 5 manzanilla olives (sliced or chopped)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 c green bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 15-oz can rositas (pink beans), pinto beans, or kidney beans (if your beans contain added salt, rinse and drain them; if you use dry beans, soak them overnight and do not drain them)
• 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
• 4 oz cold water if you drained the beans
• Salt to taste (if the tomato sauce is unsalted)

Instructions

Heat extra virgin olive oil over moderate heat in a large pot. Add onions and sautee lightly--do not let them get too soft as you want to preserve their integrity all the way until serving time. Quickly add garlic and sautee until golden. Add sofrito and bell pepper and stir. Cover and cook for about a minute or until the bell pepper begins to sweat. Uncover and add olives, oregano, black pepper, bay leaf, beans, and tomato sauce (and water if you drained the beans and salt to taste). Stir and bring to a boil. As soon as the mixture boils, cover the pot and turn down the heat. Simmer for 10 to 20 minutes (or until flavors marry) and then remove from heat. Serve over rice.

If you are feeling naughty, you can add 1/2 to 1 cup of precooked, frozen coldwater pink shrimp 5 to 10 minutes before turning off the heat. This is not traditional, but it is very satisfying.

Rice

Ingredients

• 1 c jasmine rice, washed in 3 changes of water and rinsed
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3/4 tsp onion, minced
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• Less than 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 and 1/3 c cold water

Instructions

In a metal saucepan and while beans are cooking, stir all ingredients except water, distributing the olive oil evenly throughout the rice. Add water and stir again. Bring to a brisk boil uncovered. Cover and reduce heat to allow rice to simmer. Stir occasionally to distribute oil evenly. When rice is tender (but not soggy or sticky), remove from heat and let stand with cover on for about a minute (this is so that the rice doesn't burn or stick to the bottom of the saucepan). Fluff and serve.

How does my garden grow?

Life in the wake of the bar exam is eerily devoid of commitments. Obviously that will change when I start working, but for now I'm living the life of a retiree. This afternoon I went to the farmers' market at Dupont Circle in search of farm-fresh eggs. I found some, but then it occurred to me that it might not be a good idea to carry them home in the heat (I was on foot, as usual). I did, however, acquire some fresh veggies and another roommate--a tiny pot of peppermint (mentha piperita), which I need to repot. Next week I will look for spearmint so I can enjoy mojitos while I play shuffleboard.

The basil is doing well despite a dry spell while I was gone for the bar exam. Four out of five seeds germinated, but two of the seedlings looked like mutants. They might have been a different variety. Anyway, they looked so creepy that I threw them away and kept only the normal-looking plants. Six out of ten parsley seeds germinated, but the plants have fewer leaves than I expected. They look quite scraggly and pitiful next to the basil. Only one of five rosemary seeds germinated, and the plant died long ago.


Four out of ten oregano seeds germinated. Two of the seedlings died while I was gone, but the remaining two bounced back after a good watering.


I am still looking for lavender, chamomile, and cilantro. I may just start them myself from seeds as I've had modest success so far. I actually bought cilantro plants, but they did not survive repotting. I think I might have killed them by using the wrong soil. In any event, my garden is growing (no pun intended) slowly but surely. Soon window sill space will be an issue. . .