New Orlexeek Red Beans and Rice With Oikos and Chives

Inspired by The Ungourmet's recent Enchilada Casserole, I thought something similar might soothe my sick throat. However, I didn't have any tortillas or meat in the house.

Okay, I thought. No big deal. I'll use red beans and rice. New Orleans is the first culture that jumps to mind, but this combo appears plenty in Mexican cooking as well.

Then I thought, I really like those vinegar-based hot sauces. Do they use those a whole lot in Mexico?

Then I thought, aw man, I don't have any sour cream for garnish. Better use Oikos.

Thus New Orlexeek Red Beans and Rice was born.

New Orlexeek Red Beans and Rice

Casserole Ingredients

1 1/2 c. cooked rice

1 1/2 c. cooked red beans

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1 batch Spicy Garlic Tomato Puree (see below)

1/4 c. orange juice

1/4 c. water

1 tsp. hot sauce

1 Tbsp. butter

Generous pinch salt

A few Tbsp. Oikos and a couple tsp. chopped fresh chives to garnish

Spicy Garlic Tomato Puree Ingredients

1 1/2 c. diced tomatoes, canned/packaged (if you don't can your own or buy local, Pomi is the next best thing)

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 Tbsp. vinegar

1/2 tsp. dried cumin

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Generous pinch cayenne

Directions

Combine all the Spicy Garlic Tomato Puree ingredients in a small saucepan and let simmer over medium-low heat for 40 minutes. If you want it broken down further, place it in a food processor and pulse a few times after cooking. Reserve the used pan. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375.

Grease or spray a shallow 9" X 6" gratin dish (or any similarly-sized ovenproof vessel). Spread about half the rice in a thin layer over the bottom:

Next, layer over half the red beans:

Follow with half the Tomato Puree:

Then half the cheese (note that I didn't have quite a full cup of cheddar on hand, so the picture looks a little more sparse in the cheese department than I would have preferred):

Continue in this fashion, creating another layer of each type. Make sure you end with a cheese layer.

Combine the orange juice, water, hot sauce, butter, and pinch salt in the pan you used to make the tomato puree. Heat through, stirring, until the butter has melted. Pour this carefully into a measuring cup or something else with a spout (I used a tea kettle... Hello? Martini glasses for cookie cutters?) Tilt the spout so that liquid runs gently down the sides of the dish, adding a little every couple inches, without disturbing the cheese on top. When you see liquid about to consume your cheese, quit pouring.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Wait ten minutes for it to cool after removing it from the oven. Divide the casserole into four sections, turn out onto plates, and garnish each with a dollop of Oikos and a sprinkle of chives. Serves 4 as a main course.

Tomorrow is the deadline for my Wheat Germ project, so watch this space and prepare to be blown away by the wheat germy goodness of it all... in more ways than one, considering the current state of my throat, stomach, and sinuses.

A very happy Monday to all. Hope you're not spending it in Dayquil-induced zombification like I am. Or if you are- which is likely this time of year- that you've managed to score some delicious comfort food!

Beat the eggs. Whip the cream. Show no mercy.

Home Again!

I promised pictures from Virginia. Above is one of a tractor. You can find more at Doveland Farm. Hint: If you love animals, it's worth taking a peek.

We had a great time and feel indebted to our host, Sandra, who barely made us raise a finger. She housed us, cooked for us, showed us around the area, and even taught us the ancient mystical art of buying stuff at auction and flipping it. We got a 40s era radio and record player for forty bucks and are commissioning our engineer buddy to turn it into an MP3 player. I'll put pictures up when it's done so you can bask in its vintage elegance and get in touch if you're interested... though I'll tell you right now it may challenge my husband to part with it when the time comes.

On to more food-related matters!

Here in FL we have to solarize our soil to keep nematodes from latching onto our veggies' roots and sucking their little veggie lives away. For months I've been meaning to start a small herb patch that wouldn't need such extravagant treatment. On Monday, I finally got around to planting some parsley and chives. Hooray!

I've been reading up on home permaculture, and the number one point every author makes is that nothing will look like you think it should. There are no nice, neat little rows in this type of gardening. If your yard looks like a forest, you're doing it right.

So, am I doing it right? In the picture below, do my parsley and chives look planned, or like they just sprung up?

I know I promised to update you on the mystery project taking place in our yard. All I can tell you is that the site of said project has moved- it will now be located nearer the house. We'll probably get started on that tonight when my husband gets home from work. Exciiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitedddddddddd.

In the meantime, we dug a few beds at the old site of the mystery project. Like my herb garden, there will be no discernible rows, just lots and lots of symbiotic foods growing close together. We are currently solarizing the beds:

Solarization involves turning the earth a bit, then laying sheets of opaque plastic over the exposed soil and weighing it down to keep weeds from creeping in at the edges. As you can see, my husband and I can't afford to visit Home Depot right now, so we cut up garbage bags and weighed them down with everything from scavenged planks to beer bottles. That fence you see in the background? Yup, you'd better believe our neighbors just put it up today. The instant we have enough mature veggies to fill a gift basket, they're getting one on their doorstep. Thanks for not demanding that we clean up our hillbilly mess, neighbors!!

One last update: we're spending this weekend at Green Flamingo. Probably fishing and barbequing, in addition to volunteering on the farm. I get to eat fish again! (As mentioned previously, I seldom buy fish at the grocery store.) It's gonna be sweeeeeeet. Will have pics Monday.

Beat the eggs. Whip the cream. Show no mercy.