Happy Monday!
I’m honored to have a guest post up at 5 Star Foodie today! Head on over to learn more about about Brazilian desserts and candy!
July 4th Links to a Healthy Weekend
July 4, 2009Well, I still didn’t get many posts up this week, but I couldn’t bear to leave you without any links for two weekends in a row. Although, I expect many of you are out enjoying summer fun on this 4th of July.
Last night we went to an English school in the small town where my husband works and helped host a bingo party. Last year we did a 4th of July party so it was fun to do something a little different.
We had hotdogs (cachorro quente) which around here means tomatoes and onions cooked down into a thick stew and sliced hotdogs mixed in. Another option you can find is the whole hotdog with this stew on top. It is then served on a bun (much bigger and sweeter than buns in the US) and topped with batata palha, or matchstick potatoes, as we used to call them. Not exactly health on a bun, but there were some veggies in there somewhere.
Here are a few great recipes, ideas and reads from the week.
Kahakai Kitchen featured a recipe for Thai-Flavored Ratatouille. Tasty veggies in a sauce made with almond butter! You know I love peanut sauces and I’m excited to branch out to almond butter sauces as well.
Meringue Bake Shop celebrates the 4th with the cutest cupcake creation ever – Cupcake Kabobs! What a creative idea!
A new position stand on the health benefits of a vegetarian diet was released by the American Dietetic Association this week. I found the recap interesting because it seems they’ve taken a closer look at the details of this type of diet. I’m looking forward to reading the entire position stand.
I think most of us would agree that we already knew vegetarian diets can be healthy, but I appreciated the fact that they emphasized the term well-planned. I met way too many girls in high school and college who would eat boxed macaroni and cheese while the rest of us ate meat and made it a point to announce themselves as a vegetarian.
In my opinion, just because it is vegetarian doesn’t mean it is healthy. Similarly just because it has meat doesn’t mean it is unhealthy. Both eating lifestyles can promote health and wellness if food source, nutrients and portions are taken into consideration.
Tropical Wheat Berry Salad
July 1, 2009
I’m still on a bit of a wheat berry kick. I brought some back with me when I returned to Brazil and lately I’ve been thinking about what I could do with them. After picking up a pineapple and then splurging on a pomegranate at the market the other day, I finally had my answer.
I wanted something sweet, not savory, for this experiment and I thought I could pull it off with a wheat berry fruit salad using tropical flavors.
I simply combined honey, lime and coconut for a dressing. Tossed some diced pineapple with cooked and cooled wheat berries. Pomegranate arils came about for color.
I simply combined honey, lime and coconut for a dressing. Tossed some diced pineapple with cooked and cooled wheat berries. Pomegranate arils came about for color.
I really enjoyed this sweet twist on a healthy grain. It’s great for a cool, but hearty breakfast on a hot morning or maybe a new salad to take to a picnic.
Tropical Wheat Berry Salad
½ cup dry wheat berries
1 ¾ cup water
1/3 cup pineapple, finely chopped
2 tbsp honey
Juice of two limes
2 tbsp finely ground coconut
¼ cup pomegranate arils
1 ¾ cup water
1/3 cup pineapple, finely chopped
2 tbsp honey
Juice of two limes
2 tbsp finely ground coconut
¼ cup pomegranate arils
I cooked the wheat berries according to package directions which was ½ cup in 1 ¾ cup of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about an hour until tender. Drain them if necessary and let them cool.
Once cool, toss the pineapple with the wheat berries. Whisk together the honey and lime juice. Taste to determine if you need more sweet or sour depending on your preferences. Whisk in the coconut.
Pour dressing over the wheat berries and toss to coat. Garnish with the pomegranate.
Tangerine Cake and Travel News!
June 29, 2009
I wasn’t around much at all this weekend and I even missed a links post. However, I return to you bearing dessert and some great news!
First things first, let’s talk dessert. A couple weekends ago I had a craving for a good pound cake, something with a bit of a citrus flavor. I had purchased a whole bag of tangerines at the farmer’s market planning to juice them. However, I haven’t been in the mood for cold juice.
Turns out, cake was their destiny.
I found this recipe for Tangerine Pound Cake from Betty Crocker. It produced a dense cake full of tangerine flavor. The glaze sealed the deal, made of tangerine juice and rum. It is a recipe I will definitely make again and plan to experiment with. I’m thinking lime will be next.
As many of you know, our two years (actually a little over that) in Brazil will soon be coming to an end in October. Since we made the decision to move here, we’ve had on our minds the idea of a long trip to close out the end of this adventure.
South America was the logical choice, but unfortunately the cost of traveling here is expensive. Not so much once you get to a place, but the act of getting there, as in the flight costs. We had big plans to see a lot of Brazil and South America while here.
Boy, were we wrong. Going to other countries from the small town we live in costs about the same as going there from the U.S. There are still a couple places we want to visit and we hope we stumble upon some fare sales, but as far as an around SA trip, well, it became much less appealing. Considering we want to see pretty much every country in this world, however, we were not left without options.
Europe came to mind because we still have so much to see there, but we have been there the past few years. I was actually planning to go back to Ireland with my husband while he worked this year and then both of us go on to Italy this year, but once again, plans changed.
Hmmm…so where else could we go? Maybe an area overflowing with foods made of coconut milk, curries, noodles and seafood where street food and food courts are the place to be. Places with lots of culture, beautiful beaches and some unbelievably inexpensive travel prices.
Yeah, that sounds good.
Ready? We’re going to Southeast Asia and I can hardly stand the excitement!
The month of October, before we settle back into the US and all the reverse culture shock that is sure to go with it, we will be traveling to – Hong Kong, Bangkok-Thailand, Chiang Mai-Thailand, Krabi-Thailand, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur-Malaysia and Bali-Indonesia.
Oh and don’t worry, you are going with me. The blog will, of course, turn into more of a food travel blog for that month, but I plan to share my food adventures with you as much as possible. In fact, I’ll be spending my 31st birthday at a Thai cooking class complete with a trip to the market!
To top off this already fantastic news our flight just happens to come back into San Francisco a few days before the big Foodbuzz event which I am anxiously awaiting details for. I’m planning to stay on a bit longer and attend. If you are going, let me know!
Have you been to the places we’re planning to go? I’ll gladly take any advice you want to share.
Cauliflower & Mandioquinha Soup
June 26, 2009
I’ve been trying to find a bit of balance lately. I’m talking about the fact that it is winter here. Well, more like a Kentucky October, but they call it winter. Despite the fact that temperatures aren’t plummeting into the 30s, I’m still having overwhelming cravings for cold weather foods. At the same time for many of you, it is summer and a darn hot one from all info I’m getting.
So as you can imagine, staying in-season with cooking and food posts is a bit impossible. Or is it?
This week I’ve been trying to think about my favorite recipes (or ideas for new ones) that may comfort me, but use all that wonderful produce that many people are harvesting from the garden. So yesterday this Golden Potato-Cauliflower Soup came to mind. I’ve been making it often ever since I found it in Health Magazine in 2004.
The good news is that it uses garden favorites, but is suitable for winter-warming. I’ve changed it a bit over the years and yesterday I decided to use it with some mandioquinha I picked up at the market last weekend.
You remember it, right? That golden, sweet root vegetable native to South America also called the Peruvian parsnip, batata baroa or arracacha. I’ve decided I need to overdose on it for the next three months while I’m still here, by the way.
The substitution worked wonderfully. It was the potato version taken up a notch, smooth and creamy, comforting yet still light. While I know most of you don’t have access to it, I started thinking about all the other root veggies that might work well in this recipe. Turnips, red potatoes, parsnips? I don’t know. It may be worth a try.
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup onion, diced
1/3 cup celery, diced
2 cups mandioquinha, chopped (or your root veggie substitute)
1 medium cauliflower with broken into small pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cups chicken stock
½ to 1 cup milk
Chives and grated parmesan for garnish
Heat olive oil in a soup pot and saute garlic, onion and celery for 2 to 3 minutes. Add madioquinha and cook for about 3 more minutes. Add in cauliflower and cook and additional 7 minutes. Veggies should be starting to brown a bit at this point, or at least getting tender. Salt and pepper to taste now or you can wait until the soup is combined.
Add three cups of chicken stock. This should almost cover the veggies, but not completely. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about fifteen minutes or until the vegetables are very tender.
Turn off the heat and use an immersion blender (or transfer to a standard blender) and blend all ingredients well, leaving no lumps. Turn the heat back on and stir in ½ to one cup of milk depending on desired consistency and heat through.
Transfer to bowls and garnish with chives and cheese. Take pictures. Oh, wait. You don’t have to do that one. Silly me.
Serves about 4.
Curious About Coconut Oil
June 24, 2009I’ve gladly embraced the coconut since I’ve been living in Brazil. As you can imagine it shows up in a lot of places around here. Those green coconuts with the tops chopped off and a straw inserted which most people seek out on their vacations, I now have access to everyday after my workouts at the park.
It’s a different world for me and while I was not a lover of coconut as a kid, it has grown on me quite rapidly in the past few years. Readily available as it may be, I will admit that it has been with reservation that I’ve generous added all forms of this food into my cooking.
Old habits die hard and when you are in a field where the dangers of saturated fats and all associated foods has been hammered into your head for years, it takes a while to adjust to new things. Then I started to read more and more about coconut oil. It’s nothing new, actually, been around forever, like most other natural, healthy foods, I might add.
I’ve been promising this post a while and I finally feel like I’ve done enough research to present what I’ve found and the views I’ve formed. It is really, really difficult to research topics like this in my opinion. I mean, 75% of the information out there that is understandable is from a company who sells coconut oil so you know they are going to present the positives. Yes, the info may be true, but one must read and believe with caution.
So here’s the breakdown.
Coconut oil has been used for a very long time in many of the cultures who have had easy access to it, India, Thailand, etc. Well, with our “eat low fat” mantra which eventually changed to a “eat healthy fat” mantra which is slowly becoming a “everything is okay except trans fat” mantra, coconut oil got a bit of a bad rap in the US.
Now this isn’t completely unwarranted. Much of what was being analyzed was refined and hydrogenated coconut oil, not good for you. However, the good stuff, the virgin coconut oil got thrown in with it making all coconut oil, no matter the source, bad for your heart, according to health professionals and some researchers.
Well, researchers (and lots of companies selling coconut oil) are now telling us that’s not true. I have to say, at this point, I agree.
Coconut oil has a high concentration of saturated fat, but this particular fat actually has two very positive qualities when it comes to health. One, it contains lauric acid. This gives coconut anti-bacterial, anti-microbial and anti-viral properties. You can find people all over the web swearing how good it works for the immune system and as a topical ointment.
Second, coconut oil is made up of medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) which are metabolized differently by the body than other fatty acids. They are absorbed more efficiently in our gastrointestinal tract and transported directly to the liver where they are utilized for energy. Long chain fatty acids, on the other hand, are converted into chylomicrons (substances that transport fats in the body) and go through the lymph system.
The big buzz around MCFA is that research studies have shown them to be associated with weight loss. Animal and human studies show an increase in energy expenditure after consumption leading researchers to believe they hold potential for promoting weight loss (1). In addition, another study concluded that intake of MCFA oils was more effective for weight loss than olive oil (2). In response to speculation that MCFA are associated with cardiovascular disease when used with weight loss programs, yet another study determined that there was no negative effect on metabolic risk factors (3). It was added in the conclusion that a distinction should be made on fatty acid chain length when discussing the effects of saturated fat on metabolic risk factors.
Okay, take a breather. Just a little more science stuff.
There has been some research linking coconut oil to improved cholesterol, but a lot of this has been in animal studies. Of course, that is where most nutritional research starts so it is worth mentioning. One study showed that the consumption of coconut oil by laboratory rats resulted in a decrease of total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL (4). From what I have gathered even if some professionals believe coconut oil doesn’t necessarily improve cholesterol, they do recognize that it may not exactly hurt it either. That can be viewed as a positive when it comes to fats considering all the bad publicity they’ve had in the past.
Virgin coconut oil is where it’s at when it comes to health. This name means it has been extracted from young coconuts using little to no heat and is in its most natural from. Refined coconut oils sometimes labeled as RBD (refined, bleached, deodorized) can contain chemicals used in the processing and does not have the same nutrient profile as the virgin variety. Some people go for organic. I did read in my research that this wasn’t of utmost importance because coconuts don’t need a lot of pesticides to grow, but I can’t verify the accuracy of that information. I didn’t find anything else about that in my search.
Now for my minor rant.
I do believe that foods have medicinal, healing and even miracle properties and coconut oil just might be one. However, I dislike it when foods are advertised like this. Why? Well, because that is what we do in the U.S. with fads and most fads are dishonest. The miracle cure, the potential weight loss, etc. may be true, but turning things into fads and quick fixes is where we get ourselves into trouble. I feel by doing this we are buying into the fact that health is about quick fixes and not lifestyle.
I feel that foods should be about nourishment and enjoyment and the miracles a bonus for being healthy.
So you won’t find me taking coconut oil medicinally by the teaspoonful like I have read about. Mostly because, well, that is what we do with medicine. Food can act as medicine, but I prefer to enjoy it as food. I do believe that coconut oil has health benefits and I plan to start incorporating it into my diet more when possible. Although probably not a lot considering the price, but I’m certainly not going to be avoiding it like I used to.
So far I’ve only enjoyed it as a spread on bread and I hope to eventually start cooking and baking with it more. It is only sold in small jars here and while I haven’t searched too hard I haven’t seen it in bulk.
My next step is to determine if coconut milk and grated, unsweetened coconut contain the same benefits as the oil. I’m thinking probably not since they may be processed, but if you have info on that, send it my way. I use these much more in my cooking. So far all I’ve found on it is from the About.com guide for Alternative Medicine. She states that 3 ½ tablespoons of coconut oil is equal to about 10 ounces of coconut milk when it comes to lauric acid and the milk is processed differently so the nutrient and chemical makeup is likely different as well.
Do you use coconut oil?
References
1. Papamandjaris AA, MacDougall DE and Jones PJ. Medium chain fatty acid metabolism and energy expenditure: obesity treatment implications. Life Sci 1998;62(14):1203-15
2. St – Onge MP and Bosarge A. Weight-loss diet that includes consumption of medium-chain triacylglycerol oil leads to a greater rate of weight and fat mass loss than does olive oil. Am J Clin Nutr 2008 Mar;87(3):621-6
3. St – Onge MP et al. Medium chain triglyceride oil consumption as part of a weight loss diet does not lead to an adverse metabolic profile when compared to olive oil. J Am Coll Nutr. 2008 Oct;27(5):547-52
4. The Weston A. Price Foundation: The Latest Studies on Coconut Oil by Mary G. Enig, Ph.D.
Resources
A New Look at Coconut Oil
Coconut Research Center
Health Benefits of Coconut Oil
Blog Posts
Food Renegade
Nourishing Gourmet
This post has been submitted as part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Fridays!
Soba with Spicy Peanut Sauce
June 23, 2009
So, I’m beginning to think that getting settled back in is an illusion. I can’t seem to get completely organized and feel like I’ve been about two steps behind since returning to Brazil almost three weeks ago.
The research and providing you with any valuable health info has certainly been lacking, but the effort is still ongoing. I’m determined to have a post up about coconut oil this week and I have a few other topics that are begging me to look into them.
I may not have had much time to do research, but I am still cooking so a simple recipe will have to suffice until I get my act together.
I am infatuated with spicy peanut sauce. My husband can’t stand it. My husband was away on business last night. So what do you think I had for dinner? Yep, spicy peanut sauce.
I had never cooked with soba noodles until coming to Brazil. I’m not sure why that is. I guess I wasn’t really familiar with them. Soba noodles are a Japanese noodle made of buckwheat and wheat flours. I think they have more of a unique texture than flavor and I like to cook them until just barely tender.
I should mention that while I have made soba noodles I have yet to do anything culturally accurate with them. I plan to make spicy soba at some point, but haven’t taken on the challenge yet. Two Peas and Their Pod posted a wonderful recipe a few days ago for soba which is what got the noodles on my mind in the first place, but I didn’t have all the ingredients to complete that dish. I went another direction.
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ of a large onion, thinly sliced
½ cup carrot, shredded
1 cup zucchini, shredded
1 cup Napa cabbage, shredded or thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
250 g soba noodles, cooked
2 Tbsp chives or scallions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ of a large onion, thinly sliced
½ cup carrot, shredded
1 cup zucchini, shredded
1 cup Napa cabbage, shredded or thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
250 g soba noodles, cooked
2 Tbsp chives or scallions, sliced
Sauce:
2 Tbsp (generous) creamy peanut butter
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/8 cup water
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp crushed red pepper (less or more depending on taste)
Heat oil in a sauce pan and cook garlic, onion, carrots, zucchini and cabbage until tender. Salt and pepper to taste, but remember that the peanut butter will add much salty flavor.
Whisk peanut butter, soy sauce and sesame oil in a small bowl. Gradually pour in water while whisking. It will be thick, but moisture from your cooked veggies will thin it more. Whisk in garlic, ginger and red pepper.
Pour the peanut sauce over the warm veggies in the skillet and toss to coat. Next toss in the soba noodles. Heat if it has cooled. Garnish with chives or scallions and serve.
Makes about 3 servings, depending on how hungry you are. As in if you just got back from a big workout, maybe only 2.
**Season the final dish to taste. You may find it needs more salt, pepper or red pepper once together. Also, an added teaspoon of sugar or a brown sugar will sweeten the peanut sauce if you prefer.
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P.S. My Cafe & Cream Shortbread is in the running for a French press coffee maker over at the lovely blog, My Food and Life Encounters. If you liked it, I’d love to have your vote over there via a comment. You should check out the blog if you haven’t, voting or not. Lots of great recipes!
Update: I won, I won!!!! Thank you to all who voted – Tangled Noodle, Cinnamon & Spice, Jefferson’s Table, 5 Star Foodie, So what are you making for dinner?, Mei and The Yeast I Could Do!
Hope I didn’t miss anyone. I owe you all a cafezinho!
Hope I didn’t miss anyone. I owe you all a cafezinho!
Links to a Healthy Weekend
June 20, 2009
I hope you are enjoying a lovely summer (or winter) weekend wherever you may be. Happy Father’s Day to any dads out there and if you have the fortunate opportunity to be near yours this weekend enjoy every second of it. I hear the garden is going wild back home – green beans, potatoes, peas, squash, raspberries and blackberries – so I’m sure my dad will be spending his weekend outside.
There was a lot of great reading (and watching) out there about real, nourishing foods. It was one of those weeks that I really felt inspired and confident that as a healthy society, we are making changes in the right direction.
I feel I should give a shout out to Food Renegade and Find Your Balance today because they always give me such great links through Twitter. A couple of today’s links I found through their informative re-tweets.
Campaign for Real Health spills the butter in the post Fat 3.0. This will then lead you to an article in Ode Magazine all about how fat is back in the limelight regarding health and this time it has nothing to do with cutting it out.
Agave: A Triumph of Marketing over Truth from Mercola.com shares more information about the agave craze and whether or not it is better, or no better, for you than sugar. I found this to be very informative and went along with much of the information I found when I was researching for my post.
Beware of hypes. Açaí as an example. from the Juice Herald takes on a similar theme. Why, oh why must we, in the US, always turn healthy, real foods into miracle cures, pills and extracts?
Taco Calzones with Avocado Cream was shared by food for living. I was so happy to find the Homemade Taco Seasoning Blend at the end of the post. I want to get away from using the packets, but I’m never quite sure what to put together to add the right flavor. Now I’ve got it.
Make your life more like travel by Gadling was an inspiring post I think most of us can relate to. It definitely gives you something to think about regarding enjoying where you are, positive attitude and everyday life.
Photo of a summery snail at the Botanical Gardens in the Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas
Coconut and Lime Wheat Scones
June 18, 2009
I think my love of scones has been pretty well established. I just can’t get enough of them. A donut? Eh, maybe. A bagel? Well, okay. Scones? Yes! Bring them on over. It is with these treats that I love to do my breakfast splurging.
I’ve had the coconut and lime combo on my mind lately so I decided I would give it a shot with scones. I found a few recipes online, but not quite what I was looking for. I knew I wanted to utilize the zest of the lime as well as the juice and I really wanted to use some coconut milk. On top of that I did have health on my mind, wanting to play around with a whole wheat version.
Well, this is what I got. I have to say that I taken aback a bit by my husband’s raving praises. He often thinks my food is good, but raving about how good is a new step for him. Maybe I am on to something.
Coconut and Lime Wheat Scones
1 ¾ cup whole wheat flour2 ¼ tsp baking powder
2 tbsp mascavo sugar (unrefined cane sugar)
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp lime zest (about half from one lime)
¼ cup finely ground unsweetened coconut
¼ cup unsalted butter, cold
1/3 cup coconut milk
¼ to ½ cup milk or heavy cream
¾ cup powdered sugar
Juice of one lime
1 Tbsp lime zest
Juice of one lime
1 Tbsp lime zest
In a mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, zest and coconut. Add the butter in small pieces. Blend with two knives or a pastry gadget until the pieces of butter are about the size of peas and evenly distributed. Add the coconut milk and combine. It will likely be dry.
Add enough milk or cream so that the dough comes to a manageable consistency, a bit drier than a bread dough, but to a point where it can be kneaded.
Turn the dough out onto a floured countertop. Knead gently to bring the dough together and shape it into a circle about ¼ to ½ inch thick. Cut into eight pieces.
Bake on a lightly greased sheet pan at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned. Remove and allow to cool on a rack.
Add ½ cup powdered sugar to a small bowl. Add the juice of one lime and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the lime zest and enough of the remaining powdered sugar to reach desired consistency. It should be slightly thick, but still thin enough to drizzle and glaze.
Pour glaze over each scone and allow it to harden. Enjoy!
***If you prefer not to use powdered sugar and want to omit the glaze I would suggest adding some more sugar to the scone dough as it is not very sweet at all. The glaze is really what brings the sweet, salty, sour flavors together.
Rice and Beans: A Not-Quite-Brazilian Version
June 16, 2009
I was fond of rice and beans before moving to Brazil, but I must admit that they typically came from a can and a box which often had the term “instant” or “minute” somewhere on it.
I have yet to find someone here to show me the proper way to make Brazilian rice and beans. It seems to be a method and recipe you are born with and few people my age or younger prepare them. Through my own trial and error I’ve got the rice pretty well down, but the beans remain a mystery. I do know many people use pressure cookers, but others don’t. I remain in the camp that doesn’t because they scare me a bit.
The first time I made my own rice and beans here I patterned it off a recipe from the Joy of Cooking Cookbook for Brazilian Black Beans. Funny thing is I’ve never had any beans here that taste anything like that recipe. Maybe they are like that in the north, I’m not sure. I think they were trying to mimic feijoada, but that isn’t it either. Over time I’ve taken that recipe and added my own touches to create rice and beans that I’m happy with.
I made them yesterday and realized I’d never shared it before so here you go. The beans are mildly spicy which I enjoy. A great addition would be some chopped jalapenos or you could use some colored bell peppers as well. Black beans are used for feijoada, but when it comes to plain rice and beans a red/white bean is used. I’ve asked friends here what kind of beans they are and the response I typically get is, “I don’t know, they are beans.”
Rice and Beans (The Not-Quite-Brazilian Version)
4 cups red/white beans, soaked overnight in 8 cups water
8 cups water
1 ½ cups chicken stock
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp cumin
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
½ tsp hot paprika
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
Juice of one lime
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup long grain rice
2 cups water
For the beans:
Drain beans and return to cooking pot. Cover in 8 cups of water, bring to a boil and then simmer for 1 ½ hours.
Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a sauce pan and cook onion, green pepper and garlic until tender. Stir in cumin, red pepper, paprika, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Usually at about 1 hour 15 minutes the liquid is about gone in my beans. At this point I add the chicken stock. At 1 ½ hours I add the onions and peppers, then cook for an additional 30 minutes or until tender.
Once cooked squeeze the juice of one lime over the beans and mix in. This makes a lot of beans likely enough to feed six.
For the rice:
In a deep pan, heat olive oil, add rice and cook for about two minutes. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes. *You may need to double the recipe to have enough for all your beans. I tend to use my beans in soups and wraps too so I don’t need a lot of rice.
