Beans... beans, the musical fruit

Cecilia has loved black beans from way back in Guatemala. I have failed miserably at making them. Doña Eva, Cecilia's babysitter, makes them for her although in Guanajuato, Mexico, they eat pinto beans. It seems that the east side of Mexico and Guatemala is where black beans come in.

For Christmas this year, I got the book, "False Tongues and Sunday Bread" by Copeland Marks. It is the Guatemalan food bible (supposedly, although there is no recipe for Tres Leches in it, therefore I am suspicious :-) Today we are going Guatemalan. The menu:

• Frijoles Negros Parados (Whole Black Beans)
• Sopa de Arroz Chapin (Guatemalan Rice)
• Tamalitos Paches (Little Tamales)
• Pollo Encebollado (Chicken with Onions - El Salvadoran recipe)
  

We might even throw in some fried plantains compliments of Goya. Let's see.