The Black Beans

By popular demand, here is my black bean recipe that has become so popular with my friends in 3 Sac and '05. I've eaten this with my vegan/vegetarian friends as the main protein (served with veggies), as well as have begun to use this as my standard bean accompaniment to my favorite Mexican and Cuban dishes, such as tacos al carbon and roast pork with mojo. It's super simple but a crowd pleaser. The "secret" to these beans is that they are cooked in tomatoes instead of water. As the water in the tomatoes evaporates, the thickened tomato sauce makes these beans almost a stew.

Note that this is the regular size recipe. I typically multiply this by eight for Co-op dinner.

1 lb dried black beans, soaked in cold water for 3-4 hours*

1 medium white, Spanish, or red onion, diced (Co-op: I use three very large Co-op onions)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbs olive oil

2 28oz cans whole, peeled tomatoes, blended very well with juices (Co-op: Use 1 1/2 large cans)

water

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp red pepper flakes, more if desired

salt + pepper

Heat the oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until golden. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add beans, tomatoes, and enough water so that the beans are covered by about 1/2 inch of liquid. Add salt, pepper, oregano, red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to maintain a nice, slow simmer. Cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Taste and season as needed.

If you are in a pinch, these beans can be finished quicker. Soak in cold water for as long as possible and cook the beans for two hours over a higher heat. This will leach out a lot of the nutrients in the beans' skins and gives the garlic a bit of an over cooked flavor that bothers me, but no one else seems to notice.

Serve over brown rice.

Welcome to the Queer Kitchen

My kitchen is hot, sweaty, fast, and slow. What's done there is done out of love - or lust - or long desires - or sudden, passionate cravings . I do it to service others. It can get rough when things aren't oiled up and so smooth when the rhythm is just right. There is pain and risk; big tools and costumes; solo or many partners. There are one night stands and long time favorites. You must sometimes give up control and enjoy the ride. And it feels so good. With all luck, there will be a very happy ending...and a long nap.

My kitchen is a queer kitchen...and not just because I am in it. I cook for, primarily, queer people and I cook food that is intended to create queer family. It's trite to say that food "brings people together" - it has a special power, we all recognize that. I want to talk about my love of cooking and the process of creating food that people like or, hopefully, love.

I suppose this blog will do what many food blogs do - share the recipes (and pictures) of things I'm cooking and eating with my thoughts and edits. In that way, this seems like it is as much an endeavor for my own record keeping, as it is for your enjoyment. I will also chronicle my adventures with growing my own produce and tending my rather large compost pile. I don't really have a "food philosophy," I like good, unpretentious food that tastes good and uses seasonal, preferably local ingredients. I like to know where food comes from and how it was grown As "Snowmageden" begins to fall on my slice of Connecticut, I'm realizing that it may be a good while before I pull anything out of the ground, but I've got seedlings in Burpee trays and baby herb sprouts poking out of the soil.

A few notes about the title:

After googling my title, I discovered there is a restaurant/gay club by the same name in Germany (http://www.queer-kitchen.de/). My German is a little rusty, so I can't read the menu, but the concept in and of itself seems worthy of sharing the title.

I hope you enjoy and that I hear from you often!