Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Kitchen Failblog 12/21/2010

Dear Tiffany,
Here's my fail/lesson learned for the day.
I wanted to try out this recipe for Cuban Black Beans and Rice, since I had most of the ingredients on hand and it looks pretty healthy and yummy.  I followed all the directions, except I saved the salt for the end because I know that keeps the beans from softening.  I soaked my beans all day yesterday, and put this in the crockpot last night right before I went to bed.  It should've been cooked in plenty of time for lunch today.  I even remembered to turn the crock pot on, and I woke up to a house smelling of yummy peppers and black beans.  But when I went to eat them....tough and crunchy, not done.  Ick.
     I decided to ask Google a few questions to find the cause of my undercooked beans, and I discovered the answer in several comments on several other recipes and blogs about beans...
     Apparently acidic foods such as the tomatoes I put in my crock pot last night have the same effect as salt.  The beans don't soften :(.  Lesson learned: crock pot beans are very easy, I've done them plenty of times before.  But don't add salt or tomatoes/anything acidic until after the beans have already cooked and softened!
Looks like leftover meatballs for dinner tonight.
-Joy

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