Cato Street Conspiracy Beans and Rice

181 years ago a plot to assassinate all the British cabinet members and the prime minister was thwarted. Go big or go home, right?

My coworker called in sick today so I'm on duty 4pm-12am. Luckily, the navy beans'd been soaking for a while (2 days...) so when I got out of class I threw 'em on the stove, made some rice, and fried up the other stuff. I haven't tried it yet. The plate presentation was scraped into a plastic container immediately after the above photograph was taken.

makes approx. 3-4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb. navy beans

1 c. rice

2 hot house tomatoes, sort of cubed

1 avocado, sliced

1 poblano pepper, diced

1 medium white onion, diced

cumin

coriander

cayenne

salt and pepper

red wine vinegar

oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Soak the beans overnight (or longer, if you plan incorrectly) in 4 c. water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, cook for 70 min.

2. Bring the rice to a boil in 2 c. water, simmer for 45 min.

3. Sauté onion in oil in a pan over medium heat for a few minutes. Add the pepper. After another few minutes, add the tomatoes, avocado, seasonings to taste with a splash of vinegar. Cook until desired texture.

Navy Bean Mash with Rice

I don't know where the idea for this came from, but it tasted better than it looks. I can't remember what-all I threw in here, so feel free to improvise as the mood takes you.

makes approx. 3 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 c. rice
1 clove garlic, chopped

1 can navy beans, drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1/2 block vegan cheese
red wine vinegar
paprika
oregano
lime juice

DIRECTIONS:
1. Simmer rice with chopped garlic. (I have no idea if this makes sense or did anything to the taste of the rice, but it didn't hurt, either.)
2. Heat canola oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Dice the onion, then add to the pan. After several minutes, mince the garlic into the pan and cook for about a minute, until onion is translucent.
3. Mash the navy beans and add to the pan. Cook for several minutes, occasionally scraping the bottom with a wooden spatula. Drizzle red wine vinegar.
4. Add some paprika, oregano, and lime juice. Don't go crazy with it, but you want to be able to taste them. A little bit of lime juice goes a long way in a simple dish like this.
5. Add the cheeze and cook until somewhat melt-y. I find that fake cheese tends to get gooey unevenly, so unless you're picky about uniform consistency don't worry about having chunks.

Serve with the rice and some grape tomatoes.