Barbados Black Beans and Pineapple

I do not exactly intend to start a food blog. I mean, there are already quite a few out there. But I think it might be more realistic than trying to pitch my idea to the Food Network...

I love to cook. I love to bake, and cook, and then I love to eat all the wonderful things I just cooked, especially if I can do this with my friends and family and a good bit of wine. I am also zealously “whole foods.” I mean, I’ve always had a strong, self-righteous kind of belief in the idea of natural, organic, whole foods, even as a kid and definitely before it became part of the current culture. We belong to a local CSA when we can afford it (sadly, we didn’t this year). We buy local, grass-fed beef when we can afford it (we did this year) and stock it away in our freezer. I buy mainly organic produce, etc. at the local chain grocery store, and I buy raw milk and dairy from a fantastic family farm not too far from here. I picked up a copy of Nina Planck’s "Real Food" a few years ago and read the first lines, which criticized margarine in favor of traditional butter, and I thought she was speaking to me, to a hunch I’d had all along about that phony imposter. A few pages later, she writes, “I’m concerned about nutrition, but I wouldn’t call myself a healthiest. For one thing, living forever doesn’t interest me, and for another, flavor does.”

With that, I was sold. Reading “Real Food” was a confirmation for me things I’d felt all
along, all my eating life.

So with that I mean to explain that “staples” in my cupboard do not mean condensed cans of soup, any kind of ready meal a-la Hamburger Helper, or even most condiments. Staples, to me, mean things like, flour (white and whole wheat), butter, milk, whole eggs, olive oil, beans, quality chicken broth and cheese.

Lately, the deal has been that we just don’t get to the grocery store as often as we’d like. You know, times are hard for everyone. They really are. And I’d like to explain just exactly why they are hard for us, because I really do like to wear my heart on my sleeve, but for now, you’ll just have to trust me. I’ve been in the position of having to be very creative when it comes to figuring out what’s for dinner, and I usually aim to do that without resorting to an invariably cheaper trip through the drive-through.

So, I was really congratulating myself with this dinner from the other night, which I put together with some nostalgia for my dear college friends, Ty and Andre. Andre is from Barbados, and Tylaine has an eclectic plate, and in my mind, they put pineapple in just about everything.

What I had on hand that night:
A partial package of frozen jumbo shrimp (kind of a staple: I think it is smart to have on hand if you can. It is an easy protein and thaws quickly, unlike frozen hamburger or something else).
Cans of organic black beans (a staple).
A partial package of frozen pineapple (which I use mostly for fruit smoothies).
A singular sweet potato (which I took, with permission, from my mother in law thinking that the baby might enjoy it).
Garlic (a staple).
Onions (a staple).
Rice (a staple).

Actual Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
¼ tsp red pepper flakes (more to taste!)
¼ C apple cider vinegar
2-3 oz frozen pineapple
1 15 oz can organic black beans
1 medium sweet potato
Scant ½ lb frozen jumbo shrimp
Salt and pepper to taste.
Cooked rice.


1. Chop onion and saute in saute in about 2 tbs. olive oil until translucent. Add minced garlic and red pepper flakes and cook a few seconds more. Add vinegar and loosen any bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook about a minute more and allow the vinegar to slightly reduce. Add pineapple.
2. Drain and rinse can of black beans. Add to the saute. Reduce heat to low.
3. Pierce sweet potato with fork and microwave for 3 minutes. Carefully halve the sweet potato with a sharp knife and score into cubes. Use a spoon to scoop out the cubes of cooked potato and add to the black bean-pineapple mixture.
4. Rinse frozen shrimp under cool water to slightly thaw. Cut still-frozen shrimp in half lengthwise (the shrimp-to bite-ratio will be greater. They will curl up a little when cooked and be cute and tender). Add to mixture.
4. Add about 1 cup of quality chicken broth and simmer together for three more minutes, until the broth has reduced and mixture thickens.
5. (Always) season well with salt. Serve over steamed rice.

6. (Always) serve with green salad.


I wasn’t planning on this becoming a blog. Maybe it still won’t! But next time, I will take pictures.