RSBC Week 1: Brazilian Black Beans

Running a bit behind with this post (not surprisingly), but here we have it: Brazilian Black Beans prepared in a pressure cooker. Christy's post suggested that we share a "mouthwatering pic of your ironchef entry," but let's face it: they really weren't all that mouthwatering.  I still have every intention of making Rick Bayless's recipe as Christy suggested, but spare moments are hard to find around here.  In fact, I ended up preparing this recipe with our four year-old preschool co-op.  This week we were studying the letter "U" so I justified the project by showing how we soaked and cooked the beans Underwater.  Kind of a stretch I know, but hey, we do what we've gotta do.



Our beans were a simple mix of black beans, onion, carrots, and spices.  I think they would have been much tastier prepared with some extras like bacon, sausage, and celery, but under the circumstances we needed to keep things simple.  This was my  first foray into using a pressure cooker, and I have to confess, it kind of scared me.  In the end, the beans got cooked, I didn't blow anything up, and the kids liked our snack so I would consider the project a success.

I asked the girls what they thought of our cooking and they gave it a definite thumbs up. 

As far as Run, Swim, Biking is concerned, in my first week I ran seventeen miles, swam a smidge, and biked zilch.  Maybe this next week will be a bit more diverse.

Speaking of this coming week, our Week 2 Cooking Challenge is to make soup in a pressure cooker.  Any kind of soup--it's up to you.  I came across some interesting recipes and I'm totally intrigued by whether or not you can cook vegetables, noodles, and even meat in a pressure cooker without it all coming out like mush.  Good luck!  Send your week two updates to me at kara DOT wheeler AT gmail DOT com and look to Lizzie at motherrunner.com for week 3.