Black Beans

The last time I made beans was about a year ago from a can of pre-seasoned red kidney beans.  I don't like going for the pre-seasoned variety, but at that point when I was living in the graduate dorms I would have had a tough time making beans taste better than straight from the can.  I decided tonight to revisit my roots.  I had a ridiculously unproductive day at work (probably because I accidentally took sleep medication in the morning) and I felt that I needed to do something.

In the past I've asked my mom for help and I swear I have several of her red beans and black beans recipes floating around either on paper or on email.  She's also photocopied recipes for me from her cookbook.  This time around I knew I'd be working with limited amounts of material.  I have some plantains I mean to cook this week but nothing to eat them with until I remembered the unopened bag of brown rice and a can of black beans I had in my pantry.  I looked at some recipes and took the bits and pieces of each that made sense to me based on what else I had.  Without further ado, I give you my hybrid, low kitchen stock recipe for "Cuban" black beans.

Ingredients
1 can black beans*
1 can water
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon (or less) cumin
dash of adobo
dash of salt
sprinkle of ground black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh cilantro**

*I used Goya's low sodium black beans.  On the can it said to add 3/4 cup of water, unlike some of the other recipes online.  Not sure how things would have turned out otherwise.
** My cilantro wasn't so fresh.  I simply took the sprigs that looked greenest and tossed them into the pan.

Directions and Observations
The ingredients listed above were added to a medium saucepan and left to boil.  The mixture was stirred over time to ensure none of the beans became stuck or burnt on the bottom of the pan.  Once the bean mixture began to boil, the heat was turned down to a gentle simmer.  Mixture was left simmering for 7-10 minutes.  Saucepan was then removed from the heat.

After cooking, the beans still maintained their shape and a softer, yet still firm texture.


Sources
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-black-beans/
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/spicy_citrusy_black_beans/
Goya Black Bean can


Like my lab notebook procedure?  It's funny how instinctive this way of writing is now.