Rice with Ham and Okra

INGREDIENTS (should serve 6)

* 1lb. of long grain rice

* 1 lb. of okra – cut up into bite-size pieces

* 3 cloves of garlic

* 2 1/2 cups water

* 2 teaspoons of olive oil

* 1 1/2 cups each of ham, vegetable oil

* 1 teaspoon each of vinegar, saffron (or bijou if you don’t have saffron) and salt

* 1 each of a small chopped onion, bell pepper and bay leaf

* 1/4 teaspoon. black pepper

* 1/2 of a cup each of dry cooking wine and tomato sauce

* 1/2 teaspoon. cumin

PREPARATION

Okra with rice and ham is a home-grown dish in Cuba. It is also fairly painless to prepare and cook. You need to rinse the okra and cur this up into bite-sized pieces. At the same time, chop up some ham, garlic, onion, and bell pepper and put the content in a skillet. Add some cooking oil and sauté for 5 minutes. Add cooking wine, vinegar, the remainder of your spices and vegetables, and some water. Bring the contents of the skillet to boil. Add rice and cook over a medium flame for a further 15 minutes. Stir the contents, add okra and cover the skillet. Cook until the rice is done. Serve with some olive oil milked in with the rice to give shinny effect.