Rice and Beans: A Novice Attempt

Winter weather begs for comfort food, so Mel decided to attempt making her dad's rice and beans.  Intimidating?  Yes.  But a good challenge.  :)

In the end, Mel was really pleased with the seasoning.  She improvised a bit, throwing in spices that she knew would complement the flavors of the rice and beans, and everything blended nicely.  So, tasty beans?  Check.

The tricky part wound up being getting the consistency of the rice correct.  It came out a bit stickier than Dad's.  Both Mel and DJ like sticky rice (and DJ really enjoyed the dish, along with the juicy jerk chicken!), but Mel's new goal is to keep that seasoning balance and perfect the fluffiness of the rice.  Perhaps using a rice cooker or getting a real cast iron pot will be the answer.  To be continued...