Coming Up

Today, I'm working on moros. Or "moros y cristianos." "Moors and Christians." Politically incorrect food, with a name that suits it.

As explained previously, that's black beans and white rice, mixed up and cooked together Cuban-style. All week, I've been working on congri, which is the same sort of thing, only with large kidney beans.

Val has postulated that moros and congri are totally different, but I am having a hard time finding support for that in the Internet literature. It looks like an awful lot of folks think the complexion of the beans is the only difference.

We shall soon see.

I just got back from El Store, where I picked up more kidney beans, two pounds of black beans, some converted rice (for the hell of it), some long-grain Mahatma rice, ham hocks, peppers, garlic, and the usual five pounds of impulse items.

I'm soaking the black beans right now.

I'm surprised how quickly you can turn out quality Cuban bean dishes. I've made Southern-style bean soup a lot, and I've always found that overnight soaking works the best. But all week long, I've gotten great results just heating the beans and soaking them for an hour.

I think I'll use Mahatma in this batch and also make some Uncle Ben's on the side, just to see what it's like.

I also bought a can of Goya black beans. Not soup, just beans, salt, and water. Thought I'd play around with them and decide if they're an acceptable substitute for dry beans.

Ivette never came through on picking up the excess, so I've been storing it. I'll have to throw it out eventually. Or not. Tommy the Official Drunken ManCamp Photographer is hosting a BBQ event at his place, AKA "the Boozeplex," this weekend. Maybe I should cram my leftover stuff into a couple of boned roasters and take them with me.

Hmm...that means making mojo again and doing a marination job.

Can do. I'm not scared of no mojo.

I'll let you know how this crap comes out. I'm positive it will be great. The only question is whether it will taste like moros.