College Creativity – Ariana’s Black Beans and Rice
My daughter, Ariana, is a first-year college student, and has become a master at creating meals using improvisation. With her “to go” container the college gives every student, she packs a wide range of items from the college cafeteria and whips up late night meals in the dorm with her roommates and friends. It seems like every time we call – that is, before she returned home because of coronavirus – she’s concocting some creation with food scavenged from the cafeteria. Her pilfering seems to be on the “legal” side of the law; the purpose of the “to go” container is to take a meal on the run for busy times, without walking out with plates and cutlery or resorting to a “throw away” container.
Her dishes vary. She takes fruit, yogurt, and granola to make smoothie bowls, and we’ve seen pictures of her feasting on a pretty nice charcuterie platter with cheese, bread, fruit, and deli meats. But more often than not she is making some version of tacos or burritos. The ingredients vary depending on the dinner menu that night and who is joining her for the late-night repast. Sometimes she’s heating up tortillas and stuffing them with Mexican-spiced chicken, beans, and cheese, while other times – when vegan friends or those who are gluten free are joining her – she scoops up simple beans and rice with tortilla chips. She has even got to the point where she is cooking extra and freezing it so she can reheat it in the microwave at a later time, making sure not to waste any food. She sure was mad when someone ate the frozen burritos out of the communal refrigerator that she had made for a friend.
The college cafeteria is not her only source of ingredients. The school has a food “pantry” where any student can take a few canned goods. Ariana is always rushing over when the doors first open to take advantage of the best selection. In addition, along with her roommates, she has become an excellent shopper. They find their way to the supermarket – several miles from campus – and buy items they can’t get at school – an occasional avocado perhaps, or maybe necessary spices or a handful of tortillas.
Now that my two children are home from college because of the coronavirus pandemic, they are enjoying my home cooked dinners (which are usually lunch, and sometimes breakfast, for them since they are on a different schedule than me). The other day, Ariana offered to cook one of her creations (black beans and rice) for the family to give me a night off. I readily agreed, although I couldn’t help but join her in the kitchen to see what she was doing and talk while she cooked away. It was a pleasure to spend time with her, to see what she has learned about cooking, and help out when I could. (Ariana: “Wow, this potato masher makes it much faster and easier to mash the beans compared with a fork.” Me: “It’s amazing what you can do with the right tools.”) I was always worried that my kids would never grow up to cook on their own, but those fears have been allayed.
Dorm cooking has come a long way since I was in college. While we took sandwiches for late night meals and made ramen and macaroni and cheese in electric hot pots, my daughter is taking it to a whole new level. As a parent and avid home cook I am proud of how much she is cooking and it’s impressive to watch what she can cook with a few scavenged ingredients; I am amazed by her college creativity.
Ariana’s Black Beans and Rice
As the ingredients Ariana obtains vary depending on availability, this recipe should be made with whatever is on hand. Substitutions are welcome. That makes it perfect for this chaotic time when we are all using up different foods that have been sitting on a shelf in the back of our pantry. We could all use a little college creativity.
30 minutes, serves 4
1½ cups cooked rice, leftover is fine
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1½ large onion, diced
2-15.5 oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2-10 oz. cans diced tomatoes (preferably with chipotles), about half the liquid drained (if not available use 1-14.5 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, drained of all but a few tablespoons of juice and diced, and 2 Tbsp. jarred jalapeño peppers, chopped)
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. cumin
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. hot sauce, such as Tabasco or Cholula
juice of 1 lime
Optional for serving:
tortilla chips
corn or flour tortillas
chopped cilantro
chopped onion or scallion
chopped jalapeño pepper – fresh or jarred
hot sauce
shredded cheddar, Cotija, or other cheese
- If you don’t have leftover rice, cook rice according to package directions.
- Heat oil on medium in a 10-inch skillet. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add beans and mash with a potato masher (or fork if that’s all you’ve got) until about 75% of the beans are broken down.
- Add tomatoes and jalapeño peppers (if using). Stir to combine.
- Stir in salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, and hot sauce.
- Cook, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes.
- Mix in cooked rice and cook until warmed through.
- Before serving add in lime juice. Serve with tortilla chips or warmed tortillas, cilantro, onion, scallion, jalapeño peppers, hot sauce, and cheese, if desired.
Go Ari!
Will try Ari’s recipe. When I make mine, I use cut up red pepper too, plus some apple cider vinegar and sometimes add corn.
Hi Sandy – I’d love red pepper and corn in it, but I doubt Ari would try either of those. And I suppose the apple cider vinegar serves the same purpose as Ari’s squeeze of lime juice at the end. A little acid for freshness.