Yes, of course! Let’s share to make the world happier 🙂
Ingredients
2 cups of basmati rice
½ cup dried black beans
1 cup dry white cooking wine
1.5 garlic heads peeled (I’m a garlic head).
½ green bell pepper plus two strips
½ Spanish/sweet onion
5-10 pitted manzanilla green olive (I use the ones with pimiento in them)
However much lard you feel comfortable with. I use about two heaping spoons full.
½ cup of olive oil
1 bay leaf
oregano to taste
parsley to taste
a slight pinch of paprika
salt and black pepper to taste
cilantro to taste (if you like cilantro, ofc)
Steps
Get half a cup of olive oil, and press half a full garlic into it. Set it aside for later.
Soften the beans using your preferred method. I use a pressure cooker. Add the two strips of green bell pepper to this process.
Dice the onion and leftover bell pepper. Chop the olives in half.
Use a garlic press and sautee a garlic in the lard at a temperature just enough to make it sautee. The lower, the better. This gets the lard tasting like garlic oil. We want to make sure we don’t overcook the garlic and so that it turns brown. I like to do this in a cast iron pot so I can make the rice in it later.
Once the lard looks like it tastes like garlic, add the diced onion and rest of bell pepper. This mix is called “sofrito”.
Once the onion is translucent, strain half of the beans using a spatula against the pot and sautee them with the sofrito. You can also add half of the rice to this mix. Get the delicious oil into the beans and rice!
Once you feel that the beans and rice have enough juice in them (probably around 5-10 mins), we’re going to make the arroz con gris. Place all of the rice, beans, and sofrito in a pot.
Add 2 cups of black water leftover from the bean softening process and 1 cup of cooking wine. Sometimes, people will use half a cup of cooking wine and half a cup of vinegar.
Add the herbs: oregano, parsley, and an optional small amount of paprika. It's hard to put too much oregano, but be more careful with the parsley. Don’t put too much paprika it can be overpowering. We want just a slight barely noticeable hint of paprika. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you’re unsure of the amount, use less than you feel comfortable with because you can always add it later when you’re eating it. Also, add bay leaf.
Set the stove to high and get the mix to boil, and as soon as it does, lower the temp to a low simmer (like 1-2 on my stove), and close the pot with a lid. Set a timer for 20 mins. Once the timer goes off, check it. If it looks wet, it still needs to cook more. If it looks dry but hard, you might need to add ¼ more black water and this means the temp is too high. If it looks almost done, then turn the stove off. After ~5 mins, take the top off, and mix it with a spatula. It’s almost done! Note: The more often you lift the lid to check the rice, the more you will need to add water because the steam escapes.
Once it’s fluffy, it’s time to serve. Yay! Serve the con gris onto plates. Use a spoon to drizzle as much of that garlic/olive oil mix we made at the beginning as you want. I like using a lot because I’m a garlic head. I've never said, "This is too much garlic." Also, raw garlic is good for your heart, medically speaking. You can add cilantro now too, but not earlier because it will get cooked and change the flavor.
Eat it! If there are leftovers, place them in containers and freeze it in case you’re hungry in 6-12 months 😜
Tell me how it came out.
Let me know if you have any questions! If you’re cooking and have questions in the moment, hit me up on Matrix. I love this stuff and would be excited to guide you through the process. @backonmybs:matrix.org
This might be offensive, but I want everyone to know that my intentions are innocent. I'm only expressing how I think. If I do say something offensive, I would like to know so that I could work on it because I want to get better at understanding in an inclusive and fair manner. Because I even thought to write this disclaimer, I'm guessing there probably is something offensive, so if there is, please let me know where I'm being a jerk.
From my experience noticing other people's body language in both countries, people in Cuba seem wayyy more laid back and free with their body language. In the US, it seems like people are trying to meet an undisclosed standard of presenting as "having it together", so people seem rigid and stuck. My interpretation is that people in Cuba are more authentic with their emotions, while people in the US are more controlled. My guess is that I probably look emotionally blunted to the people in Cuba.
omg we're so fucked. Even if he doesn't get elected, the fact that people are encouraging this guy to be president is an expression of ourselves. We're sick, and unless the healthy people make an indomitable stand against this cancer, we're all fucked. I am truly scared for us all because the disease is taking control.
Skin tone wise, I'm pretty white. My DNA is something like 98% of European ancestry. However, I was born and raised in the USA, but to Cuban immigrants. My first language was Spanish and I use all of the slang because that was the only language used in my house since my parents never learned English. I speak with my hands. When I speak Spanish to Hispanophones, they comment on how thick my Cuban accent is. When I hang out with new people, there's a good chance someone will ask me where I'm from. Basically, there's something about me that tells people I'm not a typical White American.
I have been to Cuba about 20 times. I can wear my Cuban cousin's clothes and catch a local bus in the remote parts of Havana in which we are literally packed to the practical max. It's so packed, you dont need to hold anything to stay standing because you couldn't possibly fall, and unless you're right underneath the bar, you couldn't reach it anyway. This is where no tourist would ever think to go. Yet, someone will still recognize me as a foreigner. WTF? There's something intrinsically American about me.
I don't know what QRZ.com is, so I don't understand how the site being up lead to your conclusion. I'm not criticizing in anyway, but moreso just trying to understand because it sounds interesting to me. While I don't know the math, I love theoretical physics, and am wondering what I'm missing out on 🙂
my fear is that we all know they're practically incapable of winning the war with the West, but they seem to be making progress on the esponiage/propaganda dimension.
phew! as a florida resident, i was worried my neighbor could do whatever he wanted with his body. nice to know we dont allow that kind of freedom here. i cant imagine having to modify my mental schemas to allow for gender fluidity. /s
No, that's me using my professional tone. She was much more laid back about it and told me something like, "We can take care of it." She's super awesome, and I have 100% confidence in her intentions.
this is art. it represents his insatiable need for external gratification because he is incapable of feeling content with himself. he's constantly trying to fill a void. he feels empty, always consuming to calm his desperation. i love it.
I have a Cuban bill signed by him as "Che"
his signature is on the bottom left