On our recent vacation with John’s immediate family, we cooked most of our meals in the kitchen of his parents’ timeshare. One night, though, we went out to a “Brazilian” restaurant, where servers brought roasted meat on skewers and sliced it onto our plates.
The meat choices seemed endless, and most were delicious, but first they let us fill up on cheaper salad bar fare. One of the offerings was black bean sauce you could pour over rice. It was so good, I could have just eaten a plate of that.
Both John and I came home craving more, so I tried a recipe for Black Beans and Rice out of “Joy of Cooking.” It was good, but this recipe looks better — even without skewers of roast meat wandering around waiting to be had.

BLACK BEANS AND RICE
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 onions, minced
2 green bell peppers, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 red bell peppers, diced
4 cups hot cooked rice
4 tomatoes, chopped
2 cups shredded cheese (Monterey Jack, sharp cheddar, or a combination)
Hot sauce
1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onions, green peppers, and garlic and saute for 3 minutes. Add the black beans and oregano. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
2. Add the balsamic vinegar and remove from the heat. Stir in the red peppers.
3. To serve, place the rice in individual serving bowls and spoon the beans on top. Offer the tomatoes, cheese, and hot sauce on the side.
Serves 4 to 6
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