One minute with Alicia - Lucky Beans

Lucky Beans

ONE MINUTE WITH ALICIA …. CHAPTER 1.   LUCKY BEANS

 

There is a beautiful tradition in Curacao to cook bean on the first of day of the year.  This is to represent abundance and good luck for the New Year.  I love this tradition whether it is for welcoming the  New Year, a new home, a new enterprise.  Having said this I would like to introduce  Mementos new enterprise,  ‘One Minute with Alicia’.  The idea is to share and pass forward old/new ideas, traditions, ‘howto’, etc. .  So from time to time I will post a video or a blog with something we would love to share with you.  

 

My version of ‘Black beans for the 1st of the Year’ is a fusion between Curacao, my adopted home and my roots as a Dominican.   So, for those of you who love to try out and enrich the palette – here goes:

 

Ingredients:

  1. GOYA Black Beans (Frijoles Negros)  15.5 oz  439 gr
    1.   For those who have the time natural beans are perfect – just recommend to soak them over night.   If you love red/kidney beans the flavor will be slightly different, but will be just as good.

 

  1. GOYA Tomato Sauce 8z (227gr) Spanish style.
  2. GOYA Extra Virgin Olive Oil -  a cap full will do.
  3. ½  Onion thinly chopped
  4. ½ Tomate sliced in cubes
  5. ½  Red peppers – finely chopped
  6. 6-7  Bacon strips cooked on a Cuisinart griddler until nice and golden.
  7. Red Vinager

 

Cooking Essential -  Cuisinart  non stick skillet.  I absolutely recommend it as its handles stay cool on the stove top – ideal for cooking.

 

It’s as Easy as 1.2.3.

  1. Chop your tomato, onion and red pepper.  Place on separate bowls.  Preparing in advance . The key is to have to have everything you need ready. 
  2. Grill bacon strips on a separate pan slowly so that all the grease will be release – cook about 5-8 minutes. .  Remove the bacon from the skillet
  3. Leave your Cuisinart skillet on the stove top. Add your onions, red pepper and for last your tomato.  Sautee round 5 minutes.
  4.  Add your Black Beans – mix and cook around 5 minutes.
  5. Add a small can of Tomato sauce
  6. Add some water (you can also include  all purpose seasoning  - bitter orange from Goya gives it the zing flavor).  Some people like the sauce very heavy – others not.  So play with it until you find ‘your flavor’.
  7. Add your Bacon strips that are already finely chopped and dried ( I always place them on cooking tissue paper to dry out – yes, keep the fat out).
  8. Add a dash of Salt– preferably Himalayan pink salt.  For those of you/me that love a dash of Pepper will be great.
  9. And last but not least – a spoonful  of red vinegar. It will give it that pop taste.

 

 

Don’t forget your essentials – a good cook needs good working tools/material/food.  Regarding the tools, I highly recommend Cuisinart.  It  ‘ simply stands by me’ in the kitchen.   Yes, here at Mementos we do not charge additional ‘warranty fees’.  We stand by You.

In closing, I know that some will wait all year to cook these beans on the first day of the year.  I love to cook these at home for any occasion – especially on Mondays – what a great way to start off the week.   And don’t forget if you just purchased your new home or are moving into a new location – well you will not lose anything by starting off that first meal with your beans.  As they say, put that ‘energy out there’