Black Beans and Rice Recipe

Thanks to those who came to watch our cooking demo at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show yesterday!
For those of you looking for a black bean and rice recipe, we've enclosed one here (we can't give you our family's ancient secrets- but perhaps you will remember it from the show.) You can always buy our sofrito at Old Havana Foods.com. Happy Cooking!

Frijoles Negros

1 lb dried black beans (rinsed and soaked overnight in cold water)
1 bay leaf
1 green pepper cut into quarters
2/3 c Olive Oil
4 garlic cloves chopped
1 large onion finely chopped
3 tsp cumin
2 TBSP cider vinegar
1 tsp finely chopped red or hot pepper

1. Boil beans with bay leaf for 2 hours until beans are tender.
2. To prepare sofrito- heat oil in a skillet over low heat until hot, then add garlic and onion, cook until onion is transparent 8-10 minutes. Add the cumin, vinegar and hot pepper and mix well.
3.Add sofrito to beans, mix well and cook over low heat. Add Bell Pepper. Cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes. Season to taste and serve.
Makes 8 servings.

Old Havana Foods will keep you warm during these final blustery, winter days. Especially, our popular Chili Cubano.
Many of you have sent us your recipe ideas with our Old Havana Foods Sofrito- our special sautéed seasoning base: as a salsa with huevos rancheros, burritos, a seasoning for grilling meat, on hot dogs, in sloppy joes, or any recipe that just needs a little kick. Here is one idea from our foodsage Betty Hogan, for an easier Arroz con Pollo (Rice with Chicken) Recipe, a long-time, popular Cuban Dish:

Arroz con Pollo
(Chicken and Rice) (Feeds 6)

INGREDIENTS:


- 2.5 pounds      Bone-in, skin-on chicken
                      (approximately 8 pieces)
- Salt and Pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Olive oil
-1 Jar (24 oz) Old Havana Foods Sautéed 
     Seasoning (Sofrito)
-1 Can (8 oz) small sweet peas, drained,
      reserve peas and liquid
-2 cups Chicken broth
-3/8 cup Juice from 4 limes
-12 oz Beer, divided
-2 cups Long grain white rice
-Pinch  of Saffron (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Lightly season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat an 8 quart stockpot over medium-high heat until hot. Add olive oil to pot and half of the chicken pieces, skin side down. Brown 7 minutes, turning pieces after 4 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and repeat with remaining four pieces.

Return browned chicken pieces to stock pot and combine with Old Havana Sautéed Seasoning (Sofrito); stir well to coat chicken with sofrito. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add chicken broth, 8 ounces beer lime juice, liquid from peas and rice to stockpot. Stir well to combine and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.

Remove stockpot from heat. Add remaining 4 ounces of beer. Stir well to combine, cover and let stand 8 to 10 minutes.

Add half of peas and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cut breast pieces in half. Serve Arroz con Pollo topped with remaining peas.

(Can substitute up to 2¼ pounds of boneless skinless chicken. Brown chicken on both sides, approximately 5 minutes total and remove. Add sofrito, liquids and rice from Step 3 to stockpot. Stir well and cover. Simmer 12 minutes over low heat. Add browned chicken breasts, stir well and simmer covered an additional 8 minutes. Continue with Step 4.)

Buen Provecho!

It's Winter - Perfect Time for Beisbol?

Maybe it's the tobacco, coffee and rum. Or the combustible mix of searing tropical heat.  Whatever the reason, Cubans are a spirited bunch.  And they'll do practically anything to win an argument.  Style points are part of the game, as they engage their opponent with a good-natured ferocity. Habeneros don't hold anything back. They love their Old Havana  frijoles negros, Rhumba music and most especially, La Pelota or beisbol.  Habaneros go hoarse, arguing over their favorite team or player.  It's a passion that dates back 150  years.             

Nobody knows the history better than than Peter Bjarkman.  The Lafayette, Indiana author has chronicled the evolution of baseball on the island with his acclaimed works, “Smoke: The Romance & Love of Cuban Baseball” and “A History of Cuban Baseball.”  And he's been kind enough to share these rare and historic photos with us (http://www.baseballdecuba.com/)  For the better part of a century, Bjarkman writes, the Cuban Winter League was the hot-spot of the baseball universe – south of the Florida Straits. For Americans making the passage to Havana, the winter league was the place to get your baseball fix (along with a good “mojito” and lots of Cuban sunshine.)

Hugely talented hurlers, like Connie Marrero and Martin Dihigo brought the heat against the best American ballplayers. Big League greats like Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige played in the famous Cuban League.  And for baseball aficionados, lucky enough to witness these hotly-contested games, it was paradise on the diamond.   

In a country of baseball "fanaticos," Armandito Valdes was in a league all his own.  Known as "El Tintorero" (The Dry Cleaner), the late super-fan was a constant presence at Havana's Estadio Latino Americano.  Blasting out chants and rapid-fire wisecracks, Valdes became a Cuban beisbol legend.   He left such a mark on people that after his death, admirers erected a statue of The Dry Cleaner.  You can see it today, sitting in his favorite spot - within earshot of the dugout on the 3rd base side of the diamond.

                                                     

Cuba History - What's Wrong With the Picture?

http://www.cubacollectibles.com/

(Philadelphia, PA, 1874)  According to Cuba Collectibles, this historic document shows the first public image of the new Cuban flag.  Stamps were ordered by Marcos Morales, leader of the Cuban Junta temporarily exiled in Philadelphia.   This stamp was issued a quarter century before the explosion of the Maine in 1898 and the start of U.S. involvement in the Cuban War of Independence from Spain.

Issued with the intent to raise funds for Cuban revolutionary forces back home on the island, the stamp was never used due to a printer's error in the spelling of "Cuba Libre."  Mistakenly spelled, "Cuba Libra."  A simple mistake of Spanish grammer resulting in a curious debut for the Cuban flag.