2-10 oz Cans of Bush's Black Beans

1-8 oz Can of Ro-Tel Mexican Fiesta Diced Tomatoes and Chilies

Fresh Garlic, Minced

Black Pepper

Smoked, Spicy Link Sausage

Lime or Lime Juice

White or Yellow Onion, Diced

Rice

This is so easy its not cooking. But it is delicious.

Por the Bush's Black Beans into a saucepan, along with the Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes and Chilies. Don't like Ro-Tel or chilies? Try Del Monte diced tomatoes, or some chunky salsa. Add diced onion. Better still, saute the diced onion in oil and sherry to let it brown and acquire a caramel sherry glaze. You can saute the sausage at the same time. I like venison sausage made from my hunting kills, but any smoked or spicy sausage will work well. Add black pepper and minced garlic to taste. I add a dash of red pepper. A little lime juice will enliven things and reinforce the Caribbean flavor.

Making rice is not as hard as some people make it out to be. You want 2 to 3 times as much water as rice. What I do (remember I have no measuring cups or spoons to my name!) is to run some water in a saucepan, enough for one serving. I have learned how much is enough for me for one serving - its roughly a cup. Next I pour in rice until the rice just breaks through the surface of the water. That is the right amount. A conic volume is 1/3 of the volume of a cylinder of equal diameter, but the rice is more domed, so it is closer to 1/2 the volume. Then turn the heat on high until the water boils. As soon as it boils, turn the heat down to low (maybe 1 or 2 on a scale of 10) and stir the rice to get it all distributed beneath the water. Cover and let simmer for 12 to 15 minutes. This makes perfectly cooked rice that separates into soft grains. If you like sticky rice, add more water, stir at the halfway cooking point and cook longer. This brings out the starch.

Either wine or a black lager would be fabulous with this. Maybe the Brazilian black beer Xingu?