Three years ago today, I was in the throes of wedding planning. As October 3 approaches, we are considering our annual $5 gifts to each other, based on the traditional gift exchange.
Year one was paper, so we exchanged items made of paper; year two was cotton, so we exchanged items made of fabric. This year is leather or glass. Since I am kind of a vegetarian, I have issues with leather, so we're going with the glass.
Part of the fun of our vacation was the fact that we road-tripped it. We were about 30 minutes outside of our town when Habibi pulled a wrapped gift box out of the back seat. After tearing open the paper, I discovered two thick travel books for our destination, and was given an assignment: pick out all the things you want to do in New Orleans for the next week.
Suffice it to say, we ate gumbo, jambalaya, shrimp, beignets, and -of course- the best muffuletta on the planet. We went on a swamp tour (I got to hold a baby alligator!), sipped café au lait at Café du Monde at midnight, loitered with some of the most talented street musicians I've ever seen, and exchanged pleasantries with the owner of a little French boutique...en français, bien sûr! The city was filled with excitement at that time as the Saints had just qualified for the Super Bowl and only about two weeks remained until all of the Mardi Gras celebrations. I stand amazed that so many people associate this colorful city only with its notorious ninth ward. Anywhere on earth where young people address you as "ma'yam" and old people call you "suga" can't be all bad.
As you can see, I fell in love on my honeymoon - with New Orleans. (I am still faithful to Habibi, of course!) Every time I visit a new place, something about me changes a little bit. Usually it's not anything big or obvious or even identifiable, but a little piece of me stays behind in the locations on earth that touch my heart: countless cities in France, Dublin, Corfu, Rome, Lagos, Lucerne, Seville, Chicago, New Orleans...
Last night, I made one of our favorite meals: red beans and rice. Perhaps one of the reasons I love it so much is because it brings back such pleasant memories. So, in honor of the good stuff and one of my favorite cities, I have decided to post my creation here. Behold...
Anouchka's "Nawlins" Red Beans and Rice
Bon appétit et laissez les bons temps rouler!
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| Street art |
But I'm getting off topic. Habibi and I were married in October, and the following January, he took me on a surprise honeymoon to New Orleans! As long as I can remember, I've wanted to spend time in the Big Easy, and after 20+ years of enduring people's negative comments about this beautiful city, I got my opportunity!
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| Muffuletta from Central Grocery |
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| "Who dat?" |
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| Holding the baby gator. |
Last night, I made one of our favorite meals: red beans and rice. Perhaps one of the reasons I love it so much is because it brings back such pleasant memories. So, in honor of the good stuff and one of my favorite cities, I have decided to post my creation here. Behold...
Anouchka's "Nawlins" Red Beans and Rice
Because
I
don't
really
measure
ingredients,
no
two
batches
of
this
recipe
are
the
same.
The
quantities
for
each
ingredient
are
just
rough
estimates.
(Note,
however,
that
I
tend
to
be
pretty
generous
with
everything...)
Feel
free
to
tweak
to
your
personal
tastes!
Ingredients
½ bag dry red kidney beans, soaked & drained (Keep the “drain.”)- 1 cup dry brown rice (Cook in “drain” from bean soak.)
- ½ cup unsalted veggie broth/stock (Optional)
- 2 bay leaves (Add to beans for the second half of their cooking cycle.)
- ½ tbsp Cajun seasoning
- 2+ tbsp liquid smoke (Feel free to be really generous with this!)
- 1 sprig thyme (Blended/finely chopped – Dry will work if you don't have fresh.)
- 1 sprig oregano (Blended/finely chopped – Dry will work if you don't have fresh.)
- ½ – 1 onion, diced (Red is best, but any onion will do.)
- ½ – 1 cup diced fresh bell peppers OR frozen bell pepper strips (Target and Trader Joe's both have good ones.)
- ½ – 1 tomato, diced
- 1 heaping tsp minced garlic (Fresh will work too. The idea is you want about 2-3 relatively potent cloves.)
- salt & pepper to taste
Directions
When chopping onions, don't
forget your protective eye wear.Rinse, soak and cook beans according to instructions on package. (Save the “bean drain juice.”) Add the two bay leaves to the second half of the cooking cycle. (You will want to use a big pot for this because you'll be adding everything else to it later.)- Cook rice in “bean drain juice” and any additional water/broth necessary per the instructions on the package.
- Once rice and beans have finished cooking, combine together in your big pot. Add all other ingredients and give it a good stir so everything is well blended. (Optional step: sauté garlic, onion, and peppers prior to adding to the big pot.)
- Allow to simmer for another 15-30 minutes...depending on how long you want to wait.
- This is the most important step: Test frequently. You don't want it to be gross. :)
- Remove bay leaves and divvy it up!
 |
| Nom nom nom! |
I
sometimes
like
to
make
this
a
day
ahead
of
time
and
refrigerate
overnight
before
serving
(reheated,
of
course).
It's
often
better
the
second
day
because
all
of
the
flavors
have
really
had
a
chance
to
blend
together.
The
amounts
above
make
about
4
medium
sized
servings
-
depending
if
you're
pigs
like
us,
or
if
you
eat
normal
human
sized
portions.
The
recipe
doubles
beautifully
but
freezes
miserably,
so
don't
make
more
than you'll
be
able
to
eat
in
a
reasonable
amount
of
time!
Bon appétit et laissez les bons temps rouler!
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