Red Beans + Rice Redux*

YJDKIY generally makes up things dinner as I go. Tonight was no exception. I started with the basic idea of traditional red beans and rice, only to discover that this dish in fact, normally includes a lot of other things, namely of the non-plant variety that I was specifically trying to avoid.

Side note from Wiki: Red beans and rice is an emblematic dish of Louisiana Creole cuisine, (not originally of Cajun cuisine) traditionally made on Mondays (betcha didn't know that!) with red beans, vegetables (bell pepper, onion and celery), spices (thyme, cayenne pepper, and bay leaf) and pork bones as left over from Sunday dinner, cooked together slowly in a pot and served over rice. Meats such as ham, sausage (most commonly Andouille) , and Tasso ham are also frequently used in the dish.

Wanting this to be vegetarian (I think this actually ended up vegan!) and healthy, I started by sauteing garlic and green pepper with a little cumin and red pepper flakes. 

Then added the beans. ALWAYS go with the biggest fry pan. No matter what you're cooking, bigger is always always the better choice. You'd think I would have learned this by now!

Meanwhile, I had 1 c. of basmati rice cooking. This might be the only "white" version of something I like better. 

Mix it all together and simmer while the other cooker prepares avocado salsa for topping. 

Serve with corn chips (would have preferred blue but these were VICy this week!). 

*or, better known as glorified (healthy) nachos