First home-cooked meal

My roommate/long-time friend, Marina, is living with me for a few months. She is half Puerto Rican and half Japanese.  Imagine the culinary possibilities! So, we just had our gas turned on in the apartment and decided to make a basic Puerto Rican rice and beans dish.  Marina definitely headed this project...and I helped!

We first filled a pot with oil and added sofrito (tomato base) and recaito (cilantro base). Then, packets of jamon y sazon.  These are basically the flavors for the rice.  Once this was simmering, corns and black beans were added.  This mixture was then brought to a boil and then the rice was poured in with water.  While the rice cooks, chicken seasoned with adobo and some more sofrito is baked in the oven.  That's about it. Wait...you're wondering why there's a photo of a spoon standing up in the middle of the rice, right? That would be Marina's (grandmother's) trick to tell if the balance of rice and water is just right.  This meal was delicious. Leftovers for DAYS.