Red Beans & Rice

Today, I went back to work. Every Monday, I will be teaching three drama classes, back-to-back, after school at an elementary school. On Wednesdays, I will be teaching at a different elementary school. I am very excited about this opportunity, of course, but it does present some challenges on the homefront. Mondays will be particularly challenging, as I will be teaching from 2:30 until 5:30 (arrive around 2-ish to set up, and leave around 6, after students are picked up), then picking up kids and racing Justice and Kaia over to the dance studio for their classes. This means that, somehow, I have to manage to prepare dinner...while I am not home.

Crockpot to the rescue! (Sorta)

I decided I really wanted to make red beans & rice. I don't know why, exactly. I had just been craving it lately. Today was a very rainy day, and my first day back at work...and my first day in a new job. So, I wanted something warm and comforting, that would be waiting at home for me when I got here. Oh, and I wanted to feed the family, too. I had red beans in the cupboard, and so, the matter was settled.

Now, there was only one problem. I had made red beans and rice before, but I had never found a recipe I really loved, so I decided to hunt around on the internet a bit. I knew mine would not be authentic, because I am fairly certain no one has made a passable vegetarian andouille sausage, but I thought I might give it a shot, anyway.

I found this recipe, and it sounded pretty good:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/authentic-louisiana-red-beans-and-rice/

I made a couple of simple adaptations to compensate for the lack of andouille sausage, and I also adapted it so that I could put it in the crockpot before I left for work and it would be ready when we got home. I tried cooking beans int he crockpot once before, and they took way longer to cook than the recipe I followed had indicated they would, so I decided to start this dish on the stove and transfer it to the crockpot later. Below, I have given instructions for a traditional stovetop method as well as my crockpot adaptation. You might be able to do all of the cooking in the crockpot, but I didn't want to take a chance on it not being ready when I got home.

I also cut down the amount of oil in the original recipe, and made my own "Cajun seasoning," as I didn't have any on hand. Since not everyone here likes things quite as spicy as I do, I left out the cayenne (since there was already some in the seasoning mix) and just let people add hot sauce to their bowls if they wished. Oh, and I used brown rice, because I just prefer it to white. So, I guess mine is a bit different. It might not be authentic, but it sure is tasty.

Here's what I did:

1 pound dry red beans
6 cups water
a couple of large pinches of baking soda
3 TBS cup olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning*
a few drops of Liquid Smoke
2-4 vegetarian sausage patties, cooked and crumbled
4 cups water
2 cups jasmine brown rice
1TBS olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4-1/2 tsp salt


Rinse beans, and then soak in a large pot of water overnight. (Or use quick-soak method: rinse and sort beans, place in a large pot and cover with water. I add a little baking soda to my soak water when cooking dry beans. I have heard this can help minimize the...ahem..."musical" quality. Bring to a boil. Boil for two minutes, then turn off and let stand for 1 hour. Proceed as directed for the rest of the recipe)

In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat, cook onion, bell pepper, garlic, and celery in olive oil for 3 to 4 minutes.
Rinse soaked beans, drain, and transfer to a large pot with 6 cups water. Stir cooked vegetables into beans. Season with bay leaves, thyme, sage, parsley, and Cajun seasoning. Stir in a few drops of liquid smoke. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 2 1/2 hours.

I wanted to use my crokpot, so, after soaking, I cooked my beans for the first hour on the stove, then I transferred them to my crockpot and left them on low for 5-6 hours. They were perfect when I got home. I found it was good to use the back of the spoon to mash some beans (not too many) against the side of the pot, then stir. The mashed beans thickened the broth a bit.

Meanwhile, prepare the rice. In a saucepan, bring water, rice, oil, salt and garlic to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 16 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand, covered, for 5-10 minutes. (I did this before I left for work and stored it in the fridge. When we were ready to heat, we just heated our rice briefly first. I am guessing, because beans that have been in the crockpot for 5-6 hours are so hot, you might not even need to heat the rice, but I did it, anyway, because I like my food piping hot.)

To serve, place a scoop of rice in a bowl. Top with a generous amount of beans. If desired, stir in crumbled sausage and/or hot sauce.

Absolutely scrumptious. Definitely going to make this again.


* To make your own Cajun Seasoning:

In a small container (jar, ziplock bag, small dish with a lid, etc.) place:

2 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

Cover (or zip the bag) and shake to thoroughly mix. There ya go ~ Cajun seasoning (or something like it, based on what I read on the internet. It worked in my recipe, anyway). Use what you need in your recipe and store the rest in an airtight container for future use. Yum-yum!


I also tried to make corn muffins. I say I tried because I failed. I completely forgot to add the baking powder, so they didn't rise much. They are like hockey pucks. Not the texture, but the shape. Tasty little hockey pucks. Kaia ate one, anyway. They do have an excellent flavour, so I will make them again (with the baking powder this time). Here's the recipe I used:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/basic-corn-muffins/

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup milk
Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin pan or line with paper muffin liners.
In a large bowl, mix together corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add egg, oil and milk; stir gently to combine. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Luckily, after my corn muffin fail, I realized we had some leftover pizza dough. A little flattening onto a baking sheet, a smear of garlic butter, a sprinkle of herbs (oregano and basil), a light scoring with the pizza cutter and about 10 minutes in a 450 degree oven later, they were breadsticks. Hallie, Justice and their friend Maya gobbled them up, and Hallie proclaimed them: "Way better than store bought."

So, all's well that ends well. We had an excellent hot dinner at the end of a busy, cold, rainy day.