Vegan Mofo 4: A Trip to Penzeys, or I can stop anytime I want to.

I just really, really don't want to. I thought I had a game plan: I went during lunch, not too much time, and only needed one thing, just one little thing. Once again, the sweet siren's song that is Penzeys has gleefully dashed me upon its delicious shores. In other words:

 

Damn it, Penzeys, I only needed cinnamon! 

 

So now that I'm about $50 out of where I meant to be, what can I whip up for a quick, cheap dinner? This may be a deja vu moment, but I'm kind of obsessed with beans and rice. I was a poor college student for the majority of my life. And who am I kidding with the 'was'? Beans and rice have always been at my side, and on my hips, through thick and thin. You can dress them up any way you want to. Any cuisine, at any point; beans and rice. Give it a try some time and see. Now on any given day, you could bust out those Rancho Gordo beauts, soak them overnight, break out that heirloom rice, get a nice glass of Chianti, some candles, set the mood... Me? Nah, I got your can of beans right here, baby. They may even be store brand (I promise they're not)

For the main event? I sniffed my way around the shop today on a leisurely stroll and found this:

It smells like everything I've ever wanted. I just met you, and I love you. Much to the dismay of my Italian mother, I have a deep love of Indian food, and a nasty track record of recreating my favs. This is kind of cheating because I centered everything on this one blend, but I highly recommend it. After all, it's 10:30 pm, and I'm thinking of going down for a second helping, so let's get this started, shall we?

Quick, Dirty, and Inauthentic

1 15 oz can of Dark Red Kidney Beans

Oil for the Saute

1 small Onion chopped

3 cloves Garlic, pressed or minced

Hot Pepper Flakes to taste

1 tsp Brown Mustard Seeds (guess where I got mine)

1 to 2 tsp Rogan Josh Seasoning, or you favorite blend

Fistful of Cilantro

 Brown Rice (Trader Joe's)

Salt to taste

In a saucepan, heat the oil on medium with the mustard seeds, hot pepper flakes, Rogan Josh blend, onion, and garlic. Saute until translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add your beans (you rinsed these, right?) with about half a can of water, add your cilantro, and let bubble 'til the flavors have melded and it's the consistency you want. Now's a good time to taste for seasoning. I'm often heavy handed with spices, so I added more. I may even have thrown some vindaloo spice in there for a little punch, but I'll never tell.

Serve over brown rice! What did that take, like 10 minutes? Yep.

Get yourself an arial view:

 Okay, now a little to the right:

Perfect!