April 26, 2014 Saturday

Some strength training with weights.  Gotta keep those muscles strong.


2 Chronicles Chapter 12 - This is what happens when you give your allegiance to someone other then God.  It is an old testament book, regarding Jurusalem being overtaken by Egypt and God only intervened to save their lives, but not their misfortune. 


On this day:
1986 - The world’s worst nuclear disaster to date occurred at Chernobyl, in Kiev. Thirty-one people died in the incident and thousands more were exposed to radioactive material.
1984 - Was down in Key West for the boat races.  Great place, toured Hemingways house and saw all those 6 toed cats.  Had dinner at Marge Crains, best lasagna ever!


Parenting - Was visiting my friend Ann today.  She turned over the family business to her son recently and retired.  There is a lot involved making that decision, whether they will be able to handle it and if you can handle not handling it. 


Book Club - Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough, haven't started it, but looks good.


Yo Chen Belize:

Belize Rice and Beans Recipe

Let’s start with the most Belizean of all dishes: rice-and-beans, the staple of Belize Cuisine. Although originally considered primarily a Creole dish, today it’s eaten daily by all and is simply called Belizean rice and beans. While, of course, nobody can make rice-and-beans as delicious as the grandmother of the first Belizean you ever talk to, the following is pretty much a recipe for a successful ‘beans’ as it is commonly called by weekend partygoers when they stop to purchase a plate late night in downtown Belize City from a variety of street-side sellers. Picture: Belize Beans and Rice is a variation of Rice and Beans.
The most famous of these, Meighan beans, was immortalized on celluloid by a local TV station which documented his method for making delicious and gargantuan amounts of rice-and-beans, accompanied by stewed meat (usually beef or chicken) with gravy, potato salad and plantain. Plantain, incidentally, has been described by some visiting palates as the local cranberry sauce. So, here goes. Recipe for Belizean rice-and-beans derived from the original Meighans Beans recipe:
INGREDIENTS
1 lb. Red Kidney Beans 2 plugs Garlic (crushed)
1 tsp. Salt
1 cup coconut Milk (either squeezed from grated coconut or bought prepared, canned, or made from powered variety)
½ tsp. Black pepper
½ tsp. Thyme
2 lbs. cleaned Rice
1 medium Onion (sliced)
6-8 cups of water
(optional) 1 small pigtail or salt beef or pieces of bacon
METHOD
1. Wash the beans, then soak beans for 4 hours, using the 6-8 cups of water. If you are using distilled water, then soaked beans only needs 2 hours to soften.
2. Boil beans until tender, with the garlic, onion and pig’s tail/or salted beef or bacon pieces. Note: pre-wash the pigtail or salt beef and cut off excess fat. You can use a pressure cooker to cut down on the time.
3. Season beans with black pepper, thyme and salt. Note: You may opt not to add the salt if you used salt beef or pigtail above.
4. Add coconut milk. Stir and then let boil.
5. Add rice to seasoned beans. Stir, then cover. Cook on low heat until the water is absorbed and rice is tender. If necessary, add more water gradually until rice is tender. Note: Usually, one cup of rice absorbs two cups of water, although rice grains can vary in the amount of water they absorb. To warm up leftover rice-and-beans, you can sprinkle with water to re-moisten.

Belize Stew Beans and White Rice served with stewed chicken, coleslaw, plantain and Habanero onion sauce.

Belize Rice and Beans, with its several accompaniments, can be found on most restaurants’ menus. A variation is rice-and-peas (made with black-eyed peas instead of with red kidney beans). And a sister dish, but definitely different, is beans-and-rice, which is the stewed beans served with white rice (not cooked together like its sister dish) and also served with either potato salad or cole slaw, plantain, and your choice of meat or fish. You might also want to check out our related Belize Tilapia Fried Fish Recipe Page.
One of its distinctive ingredients, coconut milk, is also a main ingredient in several other Belizean dishes. One of these is seré, which is a delectable dish, usually made with fish, swimming in a seasoned coconut milk sauce laced with okra and ground foods like cassava and cocoa. The sere is eaten with grated green plantain or often with white rice.


Enjoy the Day!  Make it Memorable!