Back to Cooking

I mentioned last week that Alejandro and I had pulled out the stove so that we could turn on the gas.  Previously when I was by myself in the apartment, I would simply make something that did not require cooking, or which could be heated up in the microwave.  When Alejandro was with me, we would simply go out to eat.

Now I am back to cooking.  Last week, besides the home-made salsa that I wrote about, I made something that I used to make frequently back in Ohio... black beans and rice.  I would always use Minute Rice brown rice, a can of Mexican-style chopped tomatoes, and a can of low-sodium beans, as well as sauteed onion, garlic and bell pepper.  They don't sell Minute Rice here, but I did find envelopes of pre-cooked "arroz integral" (brown rice in Spanish) that you prepare just like Minute Rice. I bought a small carton of ground tomatoes, but mostly used fresh Roma tomatoes that I bought at the market.  Alejandro would always tease me that canned beans are "fake frijoles".  So, I bought dried beans, sorted through them to pick out any stones (the beans were very clean... no stones) and soaked them overnight.  I then cooked them on the stove for over an hour.  I spiced the dish up a bit with some of my home-made salsa.

I still had some beans left over, and I had a kettle of the bean broth.  So, I decided to make some black bean soup.  I added chicken broth and some spices.  It was a bit bland... next time I will add some fried chorizo... but with some salsa and a dollop of "crema", it was not bad.  Alejandro had a second serving.

Since it's been so hot here, I thought that a cold chicken and macaroni salad would be good.  I need to watch my triglycerides, so ordinary pasta is not the best thing for me.  In the supermarket, I found a bag of elbow macaroni made from brown rice.  I cooked up the macaroni, carefully following the directions, and it came out inedible.  Not only was it all clumped together in a mushy mess, but it had a rather bitter aftertaste.  So, I went back to the supermarket and found a bag of whole wheat spiral pasta.  That came out very well.  I don't have a recipe for this salad... I added fresh broccoli that I had steamed, chopped onion and bell pepper and shredded chicken.  I made a dressing from mayonnaise and "crema".

There was enough for two meals for the two of us... so this weekend we ate in instead of going out.

I think that this coming weekend, I might make my recipe for "encacahuatado de pollo"... chicken in peanut sauce.