When Genesis and I first started dating he actually cooked for me quite often, mostly because we spent most of our time at his apartment. His fare is nothing fancy, but it is usually delicious. One thing he often made for me was lentil soup. It was literally just lentils, water, and salt. And it was surprisingly delicious. It wasn’t until we were living together that he made me his black beans and ham. Again, super simple for something outrageously delicious. He’s tried to change it over the years but I still love the original, with a little spice added.

Simple Black Beans and Ham

Ingredients (by Gen’s best estimate. These take about an hour to cook but you need to soak the beans overnight)

• 4-5 cups of dry black beans
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1-2 tbsp of red chili flakes
• 3 cups of cubed ham (not honey ham)
• optional: 4 cloves of garlic
• water

Directions

1. THE NIGHT BEFORE! Rinse beans thoroughly. Place in a large pot (the one you will cook them in the next day) and fill the pot with water. Soak beans overnight.
2. The night you want to eat! Add the salt, ham, pepper, chili flakes, and garlic (if using) to the pot and add enough water to cover everything by about 2 inches.
3. Cook covered over medium-low heat for about 1 hour until the beans are soft but not mushy. *Gen would like to interject that HE likes the beans softer than I do so feel free to cook longer, to taste.
4. Top with a dollop of yogurt, salt and pepper to taste. Eat.

Ready to eat!