Rice and Beans

We have decided to eat beans and rice. First off, they are very good for you. Also, they are very cheap.  A can of beans is about a dollar and a bag of rice lasts for weeks. Not to mention tasty. Me, being from an Italian/Jewish family, I grew up eating mostly meat and pastas and sometimes fish. Never had beans, unless it was the rare occasion that we had tacos for dinner, which I can remember happening probably less than 5 times in my life. My boyfriend, on the other hand, while never cooking them for me until now, always has a few bags of dried beans and a sack of rice on hand that his mother sends him periodically. Over time the stash has built up, because as I said he never cooks them. But they are one of his families staples, and they have them a lot at home. Apparently it is a very common meal in his part of Africa. And I can see why.

Part of me feels a little cheated that I was never exposed to beans and rice sooner. All this time that I could have been enjoying this simple, delicious, cheap dinner and I had no idea! From now on I have decided it is one of my go-to meals for the week, and I want to eat it often. I started out with a very simple dish, although I hope to find more interesting and different takes on rice and beans. I must admit, boyfriend did have to help me make this, since I was pretty ignorant on the ways of rice and beans. We got some spices for them that he knew of although I was always tempted to throw in garlic powder and italian seasonings and call it a day (someday I will tell you about how Italian I can make couscous be...), I wanted it to be a little more traditional for my first time :) 

We also got the first corn of the summer and some sweet potatoes to go with, as you can see in the pic.