Olof Pierson, Fairgrove, Missouri  (my brother)

The art of beans and rice making can be a daunting task.  Most are intimidated by just the thought of making a large pot of beans from scratch and most don’t believe they can make light and fluffy fly through the air rice either.  But…..rest assured it can be done!  Now in my family the art of making rice and beans and the recipe itself calls for a lot of different opinions on the topic itself plus a bit or arguing and a large pinch of I told you so’s.

Olof the middle child really and my younger brother is filled with I told you so’s so clearly he is the one that took control over all of our beans and rice making chores while in Nosara.  A few us got to slip in a few pots here and there but typically the bully in the kitchen, Olof was the ultimate beans and rice leader.  We all had our roles really, Rachel was salsa queen and I was the captain of the fresh fish boat, Olof’s domination of the beans and rice didn’t get anyone to upset, in fact he did such a great job that in the end we preferred it. Even when Naomi, our Costa Rican housekeeper for our vacation rental, tired to make beans and rice for us, Olof got a little territorial.

Okay enough of knocking Olof around, his beans and rice are pretty kick ass actually and he has a few trade secrets that I am sure to get in trouble for telling!

Serves 12…or a few people for several days, this is the way Olof cooks

Beans
3 cups of black beans, cleaned and rinsed thoroughly
1 large yellow onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon salt
Water

Place all ingredients in a  a large soup pot (heavy bottomed), turn burner on high and bring to a boil uncovered. Let boil rapidly for about 10 minutes and then turn burner down to medium low.  Boil beans adding water  as the water evaporates for approximately 3 hours or until beans are tender and soft.  Let stand for about an hour, this is a key part of a good pot of beans.  Reheat before serving and place leftovers in refrigerator for no more than 2-3 days, add more water as needed.

Rice

Serves 12, again Olof’s style
To cook rice well you have to have an arrogance about you that only Olof could really have, most people’s failures comes from using too much water, stirring too often and peeking under the lid…….Olof’s advice…commit to it.

4 cups of white long grain rice
6 cups of water

First the real secret to flakey fly through the air rice is to wash the starch out of it, yes wash the rice first always when making Latin American style rice.  So in a large colander (wire mesh preferred) rinse the rice well under running water.  Rinse the rise about 4-5 times, letting the water run through the rice.  Allow the rice to sit letting all the water drain out of the colander.

Place the rice and the water in  a large heavy bottom pan and bring to a boil uncovered.  After the water beings to boil turn the rice down to low and cover well (a good lid is key!).  Boil on low for one hour without checking on it by lifting the pan, you can check on it by experiencing the smell, if for some reason the water has evaporated before the rice is ready you will smell the rice begin to burn and if this happens add ¼ cup of water .

After the hour is up check the rice by lifting the pan and tasting the texture when the rice is at desired texture turn off burner and let stand for about 20 minutes.  Walla…..simple and tasty.