My Bean Recipe - Mexican Style

So, as you will find out eventually, I like to cook.  I guess I need to let this out since it isn’t, in the American sense, a man’s role.  But, I like to cook, and the desire to cook well has been growing since I have been in college.  My cooking has definitely evolved, though.  In college, I was a bigger baker than I am now, since I’ve kind of gotten on the Paleo diet bandwagon.  I’ve stopped buying bread, aside from hamburger buns.  But, I am a half-assed paleo eater, if anything: I eat hamburgers with buns, I eat sushi, and I eat tortillas.  So, I guess you can say I don’t do paleo, but my bread and grain intake has gone down a lot since high school.  Anyway, let’s get back to cooking.  

I like to cook mexican style foods.  I think the style provides a lot of flavor.  The major spices I use to get that mexican flavor is: cumin, cayenne pepper powder, oregano, garlic, onions, and paprika.  It is not, by any means, 100% authentic, but I like it.  It allows for variability, which is right up my alley because I like to experiment with adding different concentrations of spices and herbs.  However, this has gotten me in a bit of trouble.  Mainly, because one day I can make an awesome dish of fajitas, or beans and think to myself, “Oh, man, I’m the best; I’ve conquered this dish.  I won’t need to write anything down, it’s all in my head, safe and sound.”  Then, two weeks or a month goes by, and I feel like making the same thing again.  I dive right in; doing my best to remember what, and how much I added, and what the heck I’ll add something else.  It can only get better, right?
Wrong. It can get worse...

When I don’t write something down, and I go for it again, the main things that happen are: the dish tastes bland, or it has too much salt, or it’s too spicy, too dry, it’s just missing something... The list goes on.  So, I started writing my marvelous creations down, with the help of my girlfriend, who, actually asked me to write thigns down for quite a long time.  Just in case she wanted to make something, if I wasn’t home.  So, thanks to her, you can now have my awesome Mexican style bean recipe.  You should thank her if you like them :)

Soak pinto beans for one day (or what I’ve been doing lately is putting them in the pressure cooker for 15 min. And now they’re essentially soaked!)

Sauté 3 garlic cloves

1/2 an onion in some bacon grease

2 1/2 tablespoons of cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp salt

1/2 tbsp pepper
2 tbsp oregano

Add enough water to cover the beans by about ½ - 1 inch of water
(Too much, and you’ve diluted the flavor... it doesn’t taste as good)

Cook for 50 min in pressure cooker

When finished, either, let it naturally come to normal pressure or use the quick vent.

Well, I hope you like the recipe.  And if you’d like, you can post in the comment section what you thought of them.  Maybe you can, also, add something to make them and make them perfect!
Kevin