Black Beans and Rice- TM

[Guest guest]

How do you cook the brown rice with it?  i've tried twice and can't get the

timing or the rice right.

~Deanne

[Guest guest]

, Deanne Campbell

<deanne757 wrote:

>

> How do you cook the brown rice with it?  i've tried twice and can't

get the timing or the rice right.

> ~Deanne

>

I'm not sure about the black beans and brown rice. It just depends on

so much: the age of the beans, hardness of water etc. I do know that

lentils and long grain brown rice take the same cooking time. With

other beans I just cook them seperatly.

 

Deb in Idaho

[Guest guest]

 Hi!

     In answer to the " cheap, filling, good meal " question, my reply would be

" beans and rice " !

 

      In reply to the question about cooking the rice, I will share what a woman

from the Caribbean told me a couple of years ago:

 

      1. First, cook the beans.  (Used canned if you have to, but get the beans

to the stage where they would be as tender as pre-canned ones.) 

 

      2. Next, set the cooked beans aside and saute any veggies, herbs and

seasonings in a skillet with a little bit of oil (I use light olive oil, other

veg oils would be fine).  You can use almost any herb seasoning you like, but I

recommend: thyme, parsley, and chopped celery (WITH LEAVES), chopped onion and

some minced garlic.  Black pepper and a pinch of coriander are also pretty

good.  Saute these until the onion, celery and garlic get tender and

transparent.  THEN you can add just a pinch (no more than a tbsp.) of sugar and

take it off the heat.

 

     3. NOW measure the rice you want to use.  (I find it easy to just measure

the same amount of rice to cook as I had of dry beans before they were cooked.) 

Know how much liquid your rice needs to be properly cooked.  I use double liquid

volume to whatever volume of rice I have; sometimes I add just a little EXTRA

liquid, just in case.

 

     4.  Strain all the cooking liquid from the beans and add water to it to

make the desired liquid volume for your rice to cook.  Place that liquid in a

pan (must be large enough for both the cooked rice AND the cooked beans

together!)  Set the heat to high and let the liquid come to a full boil.

 

     5. While you wait for the liquid in the pan to boil, mix the skillet

ingredients that were set aside (onion, celery, garlic, herbs and so on) with

the beans and (optional step) you can heat the beans a little and let them

" mingle' with the seasoning flavors. 

 

     6. At this point you may also rinse your rice, if you are so inclined. 

When the liquid in the pan boils, stir in the rice.  Next, stir in the seasoned

beans, the celery, onion, garlic and herb mixture. 

 

    7. Bring it all up to a nice boil, then lower the heat to a good simmer,

cover it with a tight-fitting lid, and set the timer for the recommended time

for the rice.  (White rice will cook much quicker than brown rice.  Just know

which you have and plan accordingly.

If you have a rice cooker, I am sure this dish could be made in one of those.  I

don't have one, so I rely on my stove timer and cook my brown rice and beans for

about 45 minutes.)

 

    When this is done, you only need to adjust seasonings if you like, and serve

it up.  You can make this with just about any seasonings...I have only suggested

the ones I tend to use.  You can make it spicier with salsa, but add that after

the rice is cooked, as the acidity of some tomato salsas will slow down the

cooking of the rice considerably. 

 

     This is a good, filling dish that my DH and I eat often.  This is one of

the first " meat-free " main meals DH was willing to try and he never seems to get

tired of me making it, which is fairly often.  I love the " economy " of this dish

and it is so hearty that even a small serving will fill a person up easily.

 

     You can modify this and serve it with tortillas, cheese, salsa, and other

ingredients to make a nice taco or burrito filling.  You can layer it with

tortilla chips, salsa, sour cream, shredded cheese and make  what I call

" Mexican Lasagne " out of it.  You can spread it in a pan with seasoned tomato

sauce, salsa or " Ro-Tel " tomatoes and top it with a corn-bread mix and bake it

for a " chili-bean-rice casserole " that is good.  It has a lot of possibilities.

 

    One other thing about beans and rice--this freezes pretty well.  You can

even add small portions of left-over beans-and-rice to a soup and it makes a

nice, savory thickening ingredient!

 

    Best wishes!

Laura B., in Illinois

 

 

 

 

    Posted by: " Deanne Campbell " deanne757 deanne757

    Thu Nov 20, 2008 9:00 am ((PST))

 

How do you cook the brown rice with it?  i've tried twice and can't get the

timing or the rice right.

~Deanne