I think I’ll be having meals very similar to this much more frequently. I forgot how much I loved tostones, so now I’m going to be looking for meals that compliment my newly-re-found favorite side dish.

I made up a simple guacamole, which is really probably more of some American avocado salad… but it’s an avocado, 1 clove chopped garlic, juice from 1/2 lime, sea salt, and pepper.

For the black beans, I sauteed 1/2 of a yellow onion in a little peanut oil just to keep it from sticking. When the onion was soft, I added one large carrot, covered the pot, and let that cook for a few minutes. I added a can of rinsed black beans, a nice pinch of cumin, 2 cloves chopped garlic, and let this cook while I made my Tostones.

I expect to have dozens of variations of this dish as the year goes on…

Ahhh… Tostones. I love tostones. I love saying the word. I love eating them. They bring a smile to my face.

I thinly sliced one large plantain and pan fried it in approximately 1/4 cup peanut oil until they were nicely browned on both sides. Drain on a few paper towels, sprinkle with sea salt, and enjoy. I had mine with Black Beans and Carrots with Guacamole for a simple, fast meal.

Simple ingredients:

• Udi’s Multigrain Bread
• Tillamook White Cheddar… as much as you like
• grated asiago… as much as you like
• grated garlic… might not use as much as you think you might like…
• butter (for the pan, of course)

I grated a clove of garlic on my ginger grater. You might consider using a small clove, or even half of one if you don’t want to wake up the next day with the lingering taste of garlic in your mouth!

I made up some baked tofu, following my Spicy Ginger Baked Tofu recipe and added it to a simple veggie broth I made for the mushroom gravy on my Turkey Meatloaf in Mushroom Gravy. After the broth came to a boil, I added some Udon noodles and cooked them in the broth. Just ladle it into a bowl, add some baked tofu, and enjoy… with chopsticks.