How 'Bout a Little Sambo to go with your Black Beans?

I was flipping through a vintage coloring book this morning. It’s a Swedish book called “Afrika Målar-Bok,” which means “Africa coloring book.” My guess is that it’s from the forties, but I have no real way of knowing. It’s sort of hilarious because it depicts Africa as just a bunch of stupid animals and black people, somehow coexisting in the wild jungles of Africa.

The first picture for the little kiddies to color is a confused monkey with a hat and scarf, driving a little convertible. He is apparently confused, as he looks up at a sign that reads "Aplandet" or "MonkeyLand," and realizes that the sign is pointing behind him. Crazy monkey.

The next gorgeous picture is a seemingly naked black man (woman?) riding on the back of an elephant, apparently on his/her way to work or something. The killer here is the caption at the bottom, which translates something like this:

Here sits Sambo very secure
On the wide back of the elephant.

Huh?

Like this is a good thing to have your kids coloring. “Ja, that’s right little Lars, the black folk down in the Africa drive the elephants to work, ja. And they all have the big hoop earrings like that, jaaaa.”

Sambo, in Swedish, means common-law spouse: The prefix “sam-” means together, and “bo” means live. So before I got married last year, I was a sambo. During that time I rode an elephant to work, as all good sambos should.
This all makes me think of the Sambo´s chain of restaurants in the 60’s and 70’s in the States. The name actually came from a combination of the owner’s names, but was soon associated with Helen Bannerman’s The Story of Little Black Sambo (click to read), published in 1899. With mom Black Mumbo and dad Black Jumbo, Little Black Sambo has an adventure with some tigers and then eats 169 pancakes. The pancake-eating part must have seemed to be a great bit of marketing for the restaurant chain, at least in 1957 when they opened it. Obviously, as the tolerance thermometer continued to change in the states into the 60’s and 70’s, people became less interested in eating at establishments where Black Mumbo was forced to stand behind the grill and flip flapjacks.

I was actually sad when our nearby Sambo’s closed. We were there (or at Bob’s Big Boy) every Sunday morning when I was a kid. While I don’t remember any pitch black people with huge, snow white eyes, ruby red lips and unruly afros behind the counter pouring coffee, I remember Sambo’s having great hot chocolate with whipped cream. I also remember Dad giving us our allowance when he got the change back after paying. My sister and I would hurriedly inspect our quarters, hoping for a bicentennial edition, which would bring luck and good fortune during the coming week. Or at least have the recipient riding a little higher in the back seat during the car ride home.

There is one Sambo’s left – the original in Santa Barbara, CA. But, it certainly sounds that things have changed, seeing that one can now order a crab and avocado omelet for breakfast. I don’t recall crab and avocado being anywhere near the menu twenty-five years ago. Who took the Black Mumbo and Black Jumbo out of my Black Sambo?

As often happens with me, I am way off track, as far as connecting to today’s recipes is concerned. But if I stretch it, it’ll work…

SAMBO’S reminds me of

BREAKFAST as a kid, which reminds me of

MITLA’S in San Bernardino, where they serve

MEXICAN FOOD!

And so I give you:

I Got Yer Big Enchiladas served with Sexy Sambo Black Beans and Bill Gibson's Mexican Style Rice!

I Got Your Big Enchiladas

4-5 large chicken breasts
12 corn tortillas (flour CAN be used, but corn are preferable)
2 Anaheim peppers, diced
2 small hot peppers, diced
6-8 tomatoes OR 8-10 tomatillos, chopped
mild yellow cheese, grated
cooking oil
olive oil
2 onions, chopped
6-10 garlic cloves, pressed /chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3-4 green onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 T oregano
1 t. cumin
½ cup chopped cilantro
2 T sugar
juice from 4-6 limes
4-5 cups chicken stock
salt
pepper
lemon pepper

Trim any fat off the chicken breasts, rub in a little salt and some lemon pepper and set aside.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil and then add all of the vegetables, starting with the garlic and onions. SAVE one of the chopped small hot peppers for later. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently. When the vegetables are soft, add the chicken stock along with the spices, the sugar and the limejuice. Let this salsa mixture simmer for 30-60 minutes, stirring and tasting occasionally. Add salt and pepper as needed. IF you want this sauce to be HOTTER, feel free to add an additional pepper (Habanero, Scotch Bonnet, etc.), but be careful. What starts out mild gets HOT as the peppers simmer in the sauce.

While the salsa mixture is simmering, fry the chicken breasts in olive oil and the other diced small hot pepper. The chicken can be cut into smaller pieces before frying to cut down on the cooking time. As soon as the chicken is cooked through, remove the pieces, scraping off the larger pieces of the diced pepper, as these can come back to haunt a guest later. Set the chicken aside and allow to cool.

Remove the salsa mixture from heat and allow to cool.

Shred the chicken.

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, ½ of the grated cheese, and enough of the salsa to thoroughly coat/cover the shredded chicken mixture. Make sure you save some of the sauce. You will need this later.

Heat the cooking oil in a skillet. When the oil is hot, reduce the heat. Place a tortilla in the oil, and turn after a few seconds on each side. When each tortilla is golden yellow, and soft, remove from the oil and place on a plate. Place a generous amount of the chicken salsa mixture on the tortilla and then roll it up. Transfer the rolled enchilada to a baking dish/casserole dish. Repeat until all the mixture is used up or you are out of dish space. (I usually use all of my casserole dishes and use all of the mixture, freezing the prepared enchiladas. Note that the chicken mixture can also be frozen and used later.) Cover the enchiladas with a few spoonfuls of the sauce and top with the grated cheese. The remaining sauce can be put in a bowl and placed on the table – it makes a great salsa for chips.

Bake in the oven at 200° C (400° F) for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. Keep an eye on it!

That’s it. Serve immediately with black beans, Mexican rice, homemade guacamole, salsa, sliced jalapenos, hot sauce, sour cream, etc, etc, etc…!

Sexy Sambo Black Beans

1 pound (½ kilo) black beans, soaked in water overnight
1 red onion, chopped
4-5 slices of bacon, chopped
salt
brown sugar
cilantro
crème fraiche / sour cream

Rinse the soaked beans. Add to a pot and cover with water. Add the onion and the bacon and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Add some chopped cilantro and a spoonful of brown sugar and allow to simmer for another hour on very low heat. Watch the water level as you cook, adding boiled water as needed.

Add salt and then remove ½ of the beans, puree them in a blender, and then return to the pot.
Serve in small bowls topped with the crème fraiche and chopped cilantro.

Bill Gibson’s Mexican Style Rice

This recipe comes from Bill Gibson of Cocina Montañesa.

1 cup long grain rice
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 ½ cups salted chicken broth (taste for seasoning please)
3 tablespoons mixed frozen peas & carrots, thawed and heated for thirty seconds in a microwave
2 tablespoons cooking oil
½ cup tomato sauce or blended whole tomatoes

Pour hot water over rice to cover. Allow to soak 15 minutes. Place in a colander and drain thoroughly. Shake colander a few times to remove remaining moisture.

Place oil in warmed saucepan. Adjust heat to medium. Lightly brown the rice, stirring often. Add onion, garlic, and sauté until onion is clear. Add tomatoes and sauté further.

Place chicken broth in a pot and bring to boil. Add rice mixture and simmer until liquid has evaporated. Cover pot tightly, turn off heat, and allow to steam for 30 minutes.

Mix in warmed peas and carrots. Fluff up rice with a fork and serve.