Title: Red Beans and Rice
Categories: Vegetables
Yield: 8 Servings

2 lb Dried red kidney beans
2 c Chopped yellow onions
1 bn Of scallions, chopped
3 Or 4 finely sliced cloves
-of garlic
1 bn Parsley (chopped)
3 lb Smoked sausage *
Salt and pepper to taste
3 qt Of cold water

* cut into 2 inch lengths (smoked ham or ham bone works fine)

I just made no-fat refried beans last night completely by accident.

I was making this recipe and discovered it in the process.

Soak beans overnight if possible. Drain water and add beans to a large 8-
or 10-quart pot. Then add enough of the cold water to cover the beans. Add
chopped yellow onions and garlic and bring to a boil. Cook for one hour and
add all the other things and more water if necessary.

Simmer (slight bubbling action) for 2 more hours or until the beans are
soft. Then remove 2 cups of cooked beans without juice and mash very good.
Then return the mashed up beans to the pot and stir into the mixture. This
makes a creamy, thicker gravy. If the beans are too dry, add enough water
to make them like you like them. Good over boiled rice.

Serves 8.

If you're in New Orleans on a Monday, this is the only thing you can eat.

From "White Trash Cooking", Ernest Matthew Mickler. Ten Speed Press, 1986.
ISBN 0-89815-189-9.

When I got to the point where you take the two cups beans out and mash 'em,
I put them in the food processor to puree. They came out smelling and
tasting just like refried beans. The texture was a tad thin, but that
could be remedied easily. You could probably even "re- fry" them in a
non-stick skillet to reduce the water content. I used skin-on ham hocks to
make this batch of beans, but you could easily leave that out and still
come up with something close to what you want, I think.

Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; August 27 1992.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini