Once You Go Black ...

Perhaps not the sexiest way to start a blog, but black beans are a dish that can cover a wide spectrum of taste from bland, mushy messes to complex splendor. Alan came up with a winner with his spicy citrusy beans (I'll let him post the link to the recipe). Black beans are such earthy little nuggets, so it's natural to think about adding cumin and onion to them, but orange juice? I never thought to add a swig of o.j. to my black beans.

By gum, it's good! I halved the recipe because I didn't want to eat beans until the spring thaw. And true, my beans did not turn out as pretty as the ones that were pictured with the recipe, but they smelled and tasted great. You get a nice, citrusy burst at first and some burn after a few seconds.

• Ease: Fairly easy; more complicated than opening cans, but if you can chop an onion, you can make this dish.
• Taste: Delicious. Orange juice lightened up and livened up the beans.
  
• Time: Longer than I'd care for, to be honest. I soaked the beans for close to 24 hours, and the cooking took more than two hours. Not something that you can just whip up.
  
• Again: Probably. It's a good dish for the winter months when you want a little reminder of sunnier tastes.

(I took pictures, but I'll have to post them later.)