Kitchen Clean Out = Beans & Rice

Spring-cleaning has still got a hold of me! The past few days I have been throwing clutter away (which is really, really hard for me) and reorganizing the whole apartment. Part of my reorganization plan is cleaning out the kitchen cabinets/fridge and using up items that I know are getting a bit old.
On my last trip to Tampa, my Dad shared his pillow-sized sack of jasmine rice with us, so I needed to use my old supply. We also have way too many dried beans (if there is such a thing) and so I decided to make plain old black beans with rice, with a side of fried plantains and an avocado tomato salad. The beans were cooked in water, garlic, onion, olive oil, dried oregano and sofrito (that has been lurking in my fridge for way too long) for a few hours. The beans weren't nearly as good as my Dad's but they filled me up none the less. The rice wasn't all that. I don't think my (almost always) trusty steamer cooked the rice very well. It was a tad on the al dente side, which is not a good feature in rice. The avocado and tomato salad was simply an avocado, tomato, red onion, red wine vinegar, salt and olive oil. The plantains were perfectly sweet and fried in canola oil. Dessert and side dish all in one!
Since I have been so busy with stuff around the house, this meal not only got rid of a few items in my kitchen but also gave me a much needed energy boost.