Venezuela: Caraotas Negras

Hi! So it's been a while since I posted. For those of you who don't know, I moved to Seattle in August from Scranton, PA. Scranton, while a great little city, is not the most culturally diverse place on Earth. Living there greatly contributed to why I started this blog. If I wanted ethnic food, I had to cook it myself. Since moving to Seattle, I've been in ethnic food overload. For the first time, I've experienced Vietnamese Sandwiches (ohmygod good. And cheap!), Chinese Hot Pot, Korean BBQ, Salvadoran Pupusas, and Russian Piroshkys. Oh! And Ethiopian food. I live a few blocks from Seattle's "Little Ethiopia". (The downside to all this is, I can't get good pizza, bagels, or hot wings out here. But life is a give and take.)
Anyway, now that things have settled down a bit, I hope to get back to more at-home cooking. Here's a super-simple recipe from Venezuela that tastes like baked beans but better.

Serves: 3-4

What you'll need:
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 small onion (finely chopped)
1 small green pepper (finely chopped)
Oil for sautéing
1 15oz. can black beans (NOT drained)
3/4 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
Dash of black pepper
Dash of coriander

Step 1: Sauté onion, garlic, and pepper in a pot with oil until soft (but not browned).
Step 2: Add beans, water, sugar, salt, pepper and oregano. Bring to a boil.
Step 3: Lower to a simmer, and cook uncovered for about 40 minutes.
Step 4: Stir in vinegar.

Serve with or without rice!