Renée’s Black Beans Stew

If you only ever learn to make one food in your entire life, it should be Renée's Black Bean Stew. There are some huge benefits to this recipe, that all combine to make it a superfood. First of all, black beans are cheap. Even if you get the organic bulk beans at Whole Foods, you're talking about feeding four people a filling and nutritious meal for $4. Secondly, black beans are delicious. The seasonings that go with this recipe are just right, and make for the perfect taste. Third and perhaps most important, this is a max efficiency recipe. If you soak the beans overnight, the prep time is anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes, depending on whether you use garlic powder or fresh garlic. As for cook time, you don't need to be around for that. Set a timer!

I cannot tell you how many times I juggle a million other things during my morning routine, and I make my beans. Super quickly, I drain the beans, dump them into a pressure cooker, add a few shakes seasonings and water. Lock and load! Literally that can be done in thirty seconds. Then I heat the pan until it's pressurized (I listen for it, so I guess I don't leave the downstairs, but I'm definitely prepping my breakfast or my things). Once the pressure is on and the wobble top starts rocking, I set a timer for seven minutes. And go do something else. At seven minutes I turn it off. That's it. Later in the day, a full meal is ready for me, like magic. It's like the easiest thing you can make. No chopping, no stirring, no peeling, no sautéing. Nada.

What can I say about my mom's black bean stew? It's always just right. The beans come out tender, juicy, perfect... It's the fountain of youth. It's the elixir of life. It's delicious, hearty, nourishing, and dirt cheap too? It's the best kept secret of food. It's a life hack. Pair it with quinoa, rice or farro and its a filling meal that will keep you satisfied for hours. Reheat it the next day and it will taste just as good. Take literally all the leftovers in your kitchen and mix them with the stew and some chopped carrots, celery, and noodles and you've got a delicious black bean soup! Or do the classic thing and serve them up with rice. I like to make spaghetti squash and use that as a base, or farro. But classic white rice with black beans is comfort food for real, and white rice is ready in 20 mins, if you need a quick meal.

Black beans are a staple. I just can't imagine life without Mãe's black beans. To me, they are a baseline, like sandwiches are to most Americans, I think? I'm not sure what the exact translation is... I still remember my elementary school cafeteria, where I looked at the contents of other kids' lunchboxes with envy: Cold cuts sandwiches, fruit snacks, some kids even got Lunchables, the pinnacle of snackfood! My mom made me a segmented Tupperware container filled with black beans, some kind of grain or veggie side, and some kind of fruit for dessert, like cut up apple with lemon juice or orange slices. 

I also remember the unfortunate kids rhyme about beans: Beans beans, they're good for the heart, the more you eat them, the more you... fart. This is a misconception, however! Beans can make you fart quite badly, but only if you don't cook them right. The secret to beans is to drain the beans! Many people don't know this, because they avoid dried beans altogether. The Americans I do know who make black beans often used the canned variety, and I understand why. Without a pressure cooker, you need to cook black beans for hours in order to make them tender. But they don't drain the liquid from beans. I don't know the science behind draining beans and why not draining them causes flatulence, I just know that it's true. So if you've had black beans in the past, and you wound up farting up a storm and feeling embarrassed about it, give it another try.

Changing the subject, I think that we need to talk about black beans in the context of "The Power of Food." Black beans are vegan, and they are protein rich, which makes them the future of food.