Meet Armando: landlord to our foreign staff, fisherman, plant enthusiast and kind of a big deal in Carrillo!With lime trees, avocado trees, aloe vera, bananas, pineapples, pitahaya, herbs and lots more growing on his land here in Carrillo, Armando often rustles up a delicious dinner to accompany the fish and lobster he brings home from his fishing trips in Punta Allen. This month he showed us how to make his famous frijoles recipe. He makes it over a fire at his outdoor stove at least once a week and it's a favorite with the staff here at Na'atik.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg dried black beans

• Big pot of water

• Handful of epazote

• Handful of moringa

• 2 tbs of salt

• 1 cup chopped red onion

• 1/2 cup green onions or chives

• 1 lime

Method:

• Wash your dried black beans 2-3 times with filtered water and remove any rocks

• Get the wood stove burning (or alternatively turn on your stove to high heat)

• Bring the pot of water to a boil - Armando uses fresh rainwater

"the beans are softer and more delicious when made with rain water, especially if you're on the coast"

• Add your epazote and moringa straight from the plant (or from your local market)

• Add a couple of tablespoons of salt

• Add in your black beans

• Lower the heat and leave to cook for around 2 hours or until the beans are soft

• Serve into bowls with diced red onion, chopped green onions or chiles, and a squeeze of lime - and of course tortillas!

Pro-tip: cooking on a wood fire means you don’t have to turn off the stove and won’t risk burning up all of your pots when you forget to turn it off 😉Try out Armando's frijoles recipe today and let us know what you think!

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The best way to experience the Mexican lifestyle is in person, with a Na’atik Immersion experience. Not only do you live with a local Mexican-Maya family, sharing home-cooked meals and free time, but also receive expert instruction in your chosen language at our school. Best of all, every immersion experience helps fund our subsidized and free local education program, helping local students to access opportunities and make their own futures.