Dip Archives - frugalfeeding

Sarah’s Refried Beans (Frijoles Refritos)

Here it is; my second recipe in the ‘Frugal does Mexican’ series, the name by which it is henceforth to be known. This recipe was a request made by Sarah C., the girlfriend of Katherine’s older brother, Tom. Sarah and Tom were the two who coerced us into visiting Wahaca in the first place, though I’m glad they did so. As I have already mentioned in my previous recipe for guacamole, the food at Wahaca was of a most agreeable quality indeed and their refried beans weren’t to be faulted. Though, I have since learnt that their claim that refried beans are cooked twice for flavour is a little erroneous. You see, as I understand it, ‘refried’ is a mistranslation of ‘refritos’ which simply means well-cooked. Indeed, one needn’t fry them at all, for something similar can be produced by baking. Tex-mex cuisine ought really to see a doctor regarding its misnomers.

During the last few months, I believe FrugalFeeding has undergone a reasonably subtle change of direction. If asked for a synonym of the word ‘frugal’, I believe most people would, somewhat wrongly, pluck the word ‘cheap’ from their vocabulary. However, the word frugal is slightly more nuanced than its usual usage might suggest. As the tagline for this blog might suggest, a rather more suitable synonym would be ‘economical’. I believe this recipe encapsulates my slight change in thinking really rather well. Olive tapenade is unlikely to win any awards for being the cheapest, or most necessary, culinary creation. However, this recipe provides an economical solution to one’s desire to indulge in this rather punchy side-dish. If bought at a supermarket, tapenade bears a rather exorbitant price. A price which no man, or indeed woman, in their right mind would be happy to pay. Make tapenade at home, however, and one’s monetary misdemeanour is lessened somewhat. This means that although money has been spent on something which isn’t necessarily necessary, the refusal to buy sub-par and overpriced tapenade has resulted in sound economic policy. Congratulations, you are now on your way to becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer – a position which is perhaps less esteemed than it was in the days of Gladstone.