Overcomplicators Anonymous
Making Black Beans and Learning to Let Go - a memoir by me, and maybe you, too
There’s a scene in the movie Julie and Julia (an almost too charming Norah Ephron film adaptation, of the book by the same name, following Julie Powell as she cooks her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking) where Julie is cooking in her tiny kitchen and nothing is turning out quite right and all the (life) frustrations are crescendoing and she just falls to the floor crying “everything is falling down.” That’s very much the mood over here this week, it’s all falling down: the world is weird, the kids just ended the longest summer break of all time, 3 month old baby has been uncharacteristically fussy, I’m covered in spit-up and yesterday I had more meltdowns than all three kids combined.
During last night’s check-in (where we tiredly try to access our deeply repressed emotions of the day after the kids go to bed and before the doom scrolling begins) my partner gently reminded me— You don’t have to make every meal. You don’t have to try to do everything all the time for everyone.
It was a well-intentioned, sweet attempt at throwing me a lifeline. But it was also a nod to my control issues. “I am NOT trying to do everything,” I insisted. “I let you make the kids’ breakfast this morning!”
I know, we all know, I need the lifeline. Trouble is, I’m not entirely sure how to give up doing things my way (THE RIGHT WAY) or how to soften enough to admit when I could use a hand.
This is my place, forever oscillating between forgetting to and remembering how to let go. I do plenty of forgetting. But today, in the remembering category, I’m trying:
To ease up on the, fairly outlandish, expectations I set for myself and everyone else. I’m not making every meal, and even though I am still covered in spit-up, I’m meltdown free (especially impressive because the sun is currently baking spilled birthday party slime into our deck and we aren’t packed for our vacation, leaving at 5:30am tomorrow).
To get grounded or return to rituals— and right now, that looks like a pot of beans and trying for a moment to be still and content amidst the chaos.
Tonight’s black beans, cilantro garlic rice, corn tortillas and pico de gallo are a meditation in simplicity. A few ingredients left to simmer and a couple hours later something ordinary and straightforward and unfussy sits before me, almost as a reminder that it’s possible to be good without complication, that some of the best things (people included) don’t require too much effort, just a little intention and time.
Black Beans & Rice!
Note: If there was a gateway bean to bring you into your bean era , I’d like to nominate the black bean. Why? Because black beans have the power to ruin canned beans (and that’s real power!). Don’t get me wrong, canned beans are fine, they’re exactly mediocre enough to taste good once they’re all dressed up. But like, could you eat one out of the can, room temperature, no salt, no adornments, and actually enjoy it? Probably not. If you’re about to take the plunge into the bean-world, start here. You’ve likely eaten black beans more times than you can count and you’ve probably never had black beans as good as these (unless you are or have access to an Abuela, then completely disregard everything I’ve said and stick to those beans).
Another Note: In regards to being an overcomplicator, these beans don’t need much. Most steps in this recipe, apart from a few things, in bold, are optional. Simplicity is the mantra, read these instructions and do or don’t do whatever you feel- you could very well make these beans with appropriately salted water,* steam the rice, warm the tortillas, add a hit of lime, some fresh cilantro, and nothing else and it would be just as good…maybe better— so take what you want and leave the rest, just make some black beans and try not to do it all, all the time.
* Your water from the jump needs to be pretty fucking salty. It’s not going to affect the final softness of the beans (it might just add a few minutes of cook time) though it will, if undersalted, result in pretty bland beans…and no matter how much you salt later it’s just not going to break through and your flavor will be MEH. So think about how we’re all supposed to be salting pasta water, think about a mouthful of ocean water, think about falling off that 90’s low-sodium diet wagon and SALT early and often. Taste the water before it starts to boil, does it taste like salt water? Good, now add a little more.
Ingredients:
1 bag of black beans, Rancho Gordo or bulk black beans from your local mexican market (the key is freshness)
2 red onions, 1 peeled and quartered, 1 small onion roughly semi-finely chopped and reserved
12 garlic cloves, 6 partially smashed for beans, 6 finely chopped and reserved
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt!
Aromatics: mexican oregano, 1 dried chipotle pepper, fresh cilantro stems, black pepper, red pepper flakes
3+ Limes
1lb peak season tomatoes
1-3 fresh hot peppers - jalapeño or serrano
Bunch of fresh cilantro
1 cup Arborio Rice or white rice (anything but a microwaveable rice packet please)
Optional: cashews, avocado, more garlic, more olive oil
How To:
Get a big, heavy, preferably cast iron enamel pot and put a glug or two of olive oil in the bottom (enough to cover).
Heat should be on medium, or whatever your stove needs to heat without getting high enough to burn the oil
Wait for the oil to get hot and crack some black pepper and a (big) pinch of red pepper flakes into the oil, they should sizzle a bit and that’s how you know it’s hot enough to move on
Add your 6 cloves garlic, chipotle pepper, and peeled and quartered onion to the pot
Let simmer in oil for about 2 minutes, turning the onion to brown on both sides
Add mexican oregano roughly 1 tablespoons
Add your rinsed NOT PRE-SOAKED black beans to the pot
Quickly add water to pot, enough to cover about 3 inches over the beans
Salt the water and make sure it’s salty, not undersalted…just like soup-level salty
Bring to a hard boil for about 15 minutes
Drop down to just an easy simmer, with the lid askew, but on
Check beans and water level every 20 minutes, I always have to add more water, make sure you’re adding boiling water to the pot if you have to top it off
While your beans are cooking:
Make rice, I prefer arborio even though it’s risotto rice because it’s thicker and starchier(?) or more flavorful…I just like it more! Don’t forget to rinse and then make it however you normally cook rice.
Make pico de gallo: 1lb fresh tomatoes, early girl, heirloom, or cherry tomatoes are nice here, a handful of chopped cilantro, stems and all, 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced hot pepper of your liking - serrano or jalapeno (remove seeds if you must, but that feels like too much work), handful of semi-finely chopped red onion, juice of one lime, salt, let sit on counter for commingling action
When the beans are almost done, but not quite there yet, add chopped cilantro stems, pot lid should be totally off now
Then, when the beans are perfectly magically soft and super delicious (probably 1.5-2 hours later) take them off heat and add the juice of 1 lime and a glug of your best olive oil on top, maybe more salt? You’re the captain of this ship!
Take your rice, fluff it up, sauté the remainder of your garlic in 2 tablespoons oil, until it’s browned but not burnt…I believe Alison Roman would call it “frizzled,” add garlic and oil to rice, juice of one lime, salt to taste, and two handfuls chopped cilantro
Warm your tortillas and serve in a big bowl - part rice, part beans and broth, tortillas, a little bit of pico and maybe some sauce or avocado if you’re feeling wild
Optional chipotle sauce:
Take that chipotle pepper you cooked with the beans and blend it up with raw cashews, salt, lime juice, and a clove of garlic until it’s super smooth and tasting like you might want to spoon the rest into your mouth by itself. Depending on the power of your blender you may want to soak cashews in boiling water for a few minutes first- ya want it to be real smooth.