It went in at 3:00pm.

It was done by 7:00pm, but somehow, amidst the confusion and the excitement - we completely forgot to take a picture of the finished bird. I know, I don’t know how I could have forgotten to photograph the main course that I was fretting about. But I can tell you, it turned out well, a little drier than I had anticipated but it tasted great. Everyone seemed pleased or are all fantastic liars.

We have lots and lots of leftovers.

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So, I’ve had this ongoing saga with my bread machine. I’ve attempted to make several types of loaves: honey and butter bread, french bread, white bread. They’ve all been turned into croutons. I either added the ingredients in the wrong order or their consistency was terrible or they simply were devoid of taste.

It was frustrating because the house would fill with this glorious Merita bread baking scent and then I’d end up with this bland piece of sponge. Last night, I gave it another shot trying out the self-proclaimed Best Bread Machine Bread:

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There’s always that one special meal that family members make again and again that are comforting, and made with love and it’s one of the things I sometimes get a craving for since living on my own.

I’ve always loved the way my father made red kidney beans or habichuelas and my mother’s white rice or arroz. They both have characteristics that I’ve always tried to imitate - the creamy bean sauce, the perfect saltiness to the rice. A few times I’ve been pretty close but can never really reproduce that same special taste.

I love arroz con habichuelas. They’re easy to make, quick and deeply satisfying. But I think the best part about these kind of family recipes is that it’s based purely on experience and taste instead of measurements and boiling times (which can be frustrating for perfectionists or beginners, sometimes we feel like we need a set of instructions or things will go horribly wrong).

Habichuelas the way Dad makes them:

Empty the can of kidney beans into a sauce pan, then fill the same can with water and empty that into the sauce pan too. Stir in oil, tomato sauce, sofrito, olives, potatoes and onion over med-low heat. Bring to a rolling boil and let most of the water evaporate. Reduce heat and let simmer, add another large spoonful of oil (this, my father claims, will help prevent the bean sauce from going watery - what we want is rich sauce that sits on top of the rice with the beans). This will only take about 20-25 minutes to cook and you can keep it on low heat while you prepare the rice.

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