Black Beans and Rice with Caramelized Onions

I love all kinds of beans, but black beans have to be one of my favorites. They are so versatile...I will end up making a big batch of black beans, then eating off of them for three days in different recipes. I use following as a base, then tweak a little depending on how I use it in other recipes.

Here's how I prepare my beans and always love the results...

Black Beans:

• 2 cups Dried Black beans picked over and rinsed (or use however much to match your serving size)
• 4 cups of Water (or however much to match your bean serving size)
• 6 cups of Broth or vegetable stock
• 1 Bay Leaf (turkish or california is preferred)
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 2 Fresh sprigs of thyme and 2 fresh sprigs of parsley (pull leaves off stems)
• 1/3 cup of Dark Rum
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice
• Salt & Pepper

Soak the beans in cold water (I've soaked them for 2-8 hours or as little as 30 minutes...do whatever you can...the longer the better). Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy pot, add onions, celery, thyme, bay leaf and parsley until soft. Add drained pre-soaked beans, water and stock and S&P to taste and bring to a boil. After it comes to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for approx 3 hours or until tender.

Once the beans are tender, discard the bay leaf, stir in the rum, lime or lemon juice and addt'l S&P if needed. Heat an additional 5 minutes then they are ready to eat. NOTE - if you want to turn this into soup, take about half of the beans and puree or mash them up a little then add them back to the rest of the beans and mix together.

These are great served with any type of rice, served alone as a side, prepared as soup, made into a burrito or taco, used in salads with lettuce or a salad with corn/tomatoes/onions and pepper, used in chili, etc.

Caramelized Onions:

• 2 yellow onions sliced really thin
• Olive oil

Heat skillet with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add onions, stir to coat, then cook for 30 minutes or so on medium-to-low heat. The onions are done one they turn a nice caramel color and are very soft and fragrant. Add salt and pepper to taste. These are great served as a side with beans and rice, or used in tacos, on burgers, with pork, or you can add cream to these to turn them into creamed onions, or added fennel and pour over goat cheese and eat with crackers.