Serves 8. Difficulty: Moderate. Preparation time: 30 minutes. Cooking time: 3 hours. 1 lb. dried black beans Water 2 tbsp. butter 2 med. onions 2 crushed garlic cloves 2 bay leaves 1/2 c. chopped green pepper 1 tsp. ground cumin 3 1/2 c. beef broth 1 tbsp. cider vinegar 1 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. hot pepper sauce 3 c. hot cooked rice

Wash beans and soak overnight. Drain and reserve liquid. In Dutch oven, melt butter. Add next 5 ingredients plus bacon. Saute onions. Stir in beans and cook three minutes more. Pour in beef broth and 1 cup liquid. Simmer partially covered over low heat until beans are tender, 2-3 hours. Add more water to pot if beans become too dry. During the last 30 minutes, stir in vinegar, salt, and hot pepper sauce to taste.

Serve in a soup bowl over hot cooked rice and top with diced raw onion. This is great with celery and carrot sticks with yogurt dip and an ice cold martini.