Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–so glad you’re here!
All the leaves fell off the tree in my front yard today:
I exaggerate a little–there were still a few leaves left on the tree, but a bunch of them just gave up this morning. It reminded me of the passage in the book “Bambi” where the two leaves are conversing about how winter is coming and all the leaves are falling off the tree. They chat wistfully about how long they’ve lasted on the tree and how they’ve changed. Eventually, one of the leaves falls, and that’s it–winter has arrived.
We are not quite at winter here in our little Valley of Heart’s Delight, but our weather has changed dramatically in the last 24 hours–going from 82 degrees yesterday to about 69 for a high today. It’s clear, but we’ve got a crisp breeze that is steadily knocking the leaves from the trees.
I am reminded that with the changing of the seasons also comes the beautiful seasonal celebration of Dia De Los Muertos, in which those who have passed are remembered and honored. This year, having lost two dogs and my dad, I am having my own little observance of the holiday:
There are lots of traditional foods for Dia De Los Muertos. Last year, I featured tamales, which are a favorite for families to make together for a celebration:
But this year, given how recent my losses, and how precipitously the weather has changed, I wanted to lean into the most comforting food I could think of to honor my departed, provide warmth on a cool autumn day, and most of all, to soothe my soul. What better than a traditional pot of pinto beans to do all three? Not only are pinto beans an important part of Mexican cuisine, they, along with rice, are also part of almost every Mexican feast. I have a great recipe for a pot of beans, but I decided to do a little digging and find a more traditionally Mexican version of a basic pot of beans, and this one, while a combination of several different recipes I looked at, hits the mark: it is straightforward, uses very few no frills ingredients, and it really lets the beans shine in a lot of ways–and the earthy, herbaceous, mildly spicy smells coming from my kitchen was a little slice of heaven! Not only do you get the rich, creaminess of the beans with this method of cooking, but the beans hold together and create a flavorful bean broth, rather than bursting and thickening into a sauce. I fried up the pork belly I made over the weekend and added that as well as a little pico de gallo, some avocado and finally, a dollop of sour cream to my bowl of beans:
It hit all the right notes: it was simple, delicious, hearty, satisfying and most of all, deeply comforting. Another bonus with this recipe? You can substitute practically any bean into this recipe. Oh–and one more–no soaking the beans–just low and slow simmering for 2-3 hours.
Tune in tomorrow when I make a nice chili with the leftover beans and more of that yummy smoked pork belly.
Until then,
Peace, love and good food,
Keri
