Arrr! Mostly pirated Red Beans and Rice

This was my first go at red beans and rice, so I worked off Alton Brown's recipe. Here it is, with a few modifications and limited commercial interruptions.

Note: It takes a while for red beans and rice to cook, so be sure to plan ahead. Give it at least 2 1/2 hours from start to finish.

Here's What You're Gonna Need:

For red beans:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped
2 green bell peppers, or mix of orange, yellow and green chopped (I buy a bag of already cut
mixed colored bell peppers at Trader Joe's and keep them in my freezer. They're especially
handy in the winter months, when peppers are expensive.)
3-4 stalks celery, chopped
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 quarts water
1 pound red kidney beans, rinsed and with any gross things picked out

For rice:

3 cups water
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter (or butter-like whatever it is vegan's use-or skip it)
2 cups long-grain rice, white for the real experience, brown for well-being
1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt

And Here's What You're Gonna Do:

Heat vegetable oil over medium-high in a good-sized pot or Dutch oven.

Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, salt and pepper to the pot. Cook, stirring early and often, until the onions and celery are semi-translucent and the bell peppers are tender, about 6-8 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, stir, stir, stirring.

Bay leaf, thyme, hot sauce, cayenne pepper, water and beans into the pot! Turn up the heat a little so you can get this bad boy boiling. Stir, stir, stir.

Once it's boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low, cover and simmer for about an hour and a half, stirring every once and a while.

It's rice time! Here's how Alton Brown does it, but you can always give the rice a little go in the butter then make it like you usually do. Don't forget to adjust the timing if you're going with brown rice.
Place the water into an electric kettle and bring to a boil. While the water is coming to a boil place the butter into a 3-quart saucepan, set over medium heat. Once the butter begins to bubble, add the rice and stir to combine. Add the salt and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Carefully pour the water over the rice and stir to combine. Decrease the heat to the lowest setting, cover, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.

When the time's up for the beans, take the lid off and, if necessary, turn the heat up a little to keep it simmering. Let it go for another 30-40 minutes or until the beans are tender and the sauce is thickened.

Give it a couple of mashes with a potato masher, but don't go overboard.

Rice goes on the bottom, beans go on top, and wha la! We served it with a side of grilled shrimp seasoned with old bay.

Today's photo taken was taken by Kelly of www.ShootMePretty.com, coming soon. If she can shoot Red Beans and Rice pretty, than she can shoot anything pretty.

Rewrite of Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quesadilla recipe: Now with measurements! Plus idiotic photos of talking potatoes taken by me!

Freezer Burritos and a Period made of gold

Been drinking soy milk. Still no improvement in the size of my boobs, but the last time I got my period it was made of gold.
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Here's a good recipe for burritos that you can made ahead of time and leave in the fridge until the next day or freeze until the day before you decide you're no longer a vegetarian.

1 cup of brown rice (cooled)
2 cans of black beans
1 can pinto beans
1/2 can whole kernel corn
1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies or an equal amount of salsa
as much cheese as your little heart desires
8-10 flour tortillas (the big ass kind)

Rinse and drain black beans and pinto beans. Put the black beans, pinto beans, corn and died tomatoes in a mixing bowl and mix it all up. Toss in the rice and cheese and mix it up again. Fill the tortillas up with the mixture and wrap those suckers up like burritos. If you want to freeze them, wrap them up in plastic wrap and put them in a freezer bag. You can also freeze the filling and the tortillas separately. Defrost them in the microwave when it's burrito time again. If you're going to eat your babies now, you can slap some sour cream on the tortilla first and add guacamole or just cut up avocados--that stuff doesn't freeze well, though, so if you want it on the frozen ones you're going to have to add it after they thaw.

Asian shrimp stew with steamed rice

As promised, here's the Asian shrimp stew recipe, taken from the March 2008 edition of Everyday Food. I don't know how Kosher it is to post recipes from magazines, so for the love of God don't tell Martha Stewart I gave you this. Or I'll shove a ham down your throat.

1 cup long grain white rice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 yellow bell peppers (I used one yellow and one orange.) cut into 1 inch pieces
4 garlic cloves, sliced
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger (I don't like ginger, unless it's in the form of a tasty
man-shaped cookie, so I skipped it.)
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
4 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
coarse salt
1 pound peeled and deviened medium shrimp (thawed if frozen), tails removed
1-2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1. Cook rice according to package instructions; set aside, covered. Meanwhile, place cornstarch in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in coconut milk, sugar, and 1 cup water; set aside.

2. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add bell peppers, onion, garlic, ginger, red-pepper flakes, and scallion whiles; season with salt. Cook, tossing frequently, until vegetables are crisp-tender, 6 to 8 minutes.

3. Add coconut milk mixture to skillet; raise heat to medium-high. Boil, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 1-2 minutes. Add shrimp, and cook just until opaque, 3-4 minutes. If necessary, adjust consistency of stew with a little bit of water; season with vinegar and salt to taste.

4. Fluff rice gently with a fork. Serve shrimp stew over rice, garnished with scallion greens.

I don't have much to add here, other than I might bump the coconut milk to 3/4 cup next time. Put extra rice vinegar and red-pepper flakes on the table--Steve and I both added more of each.