Last Sunday (or smth), I ended up with almost a kilo (or smth) of boiled beans. Cooking them from dry is a pain: soaking, and then boiling, takes hours. I also always make stock from veggie scrappings to go along. I boil beans in the stock so the flavour seeps in. So I thought I’d double up on how much I usually make.
Anyway, today is Thursday and I have a meal to invent with the beans still left over for tomorrow. I experimented with flavours all week and tonight was an impromptu soup.
First, I fried up spices in oil and butter. I often go with the Indian cuisine regulars and mix the ones that I feel like tasting right now in a cup. Tonight, I chose a shit load of dried paprika, coriander, chilli flakes, ginger and nutmeg. In the end, I always go by smell.
The chilli flakes I bought are mostly chilli seeds. I feel like these need to be stewed for longer for the flavour to release. When I added beans to the spiced oil mixture and tasted, it wasn't spicy at all. So I added some more chilli. Still wasn’t spicy, even though I’d let it fry in the oil first and then with the beans too. OK.
I had half of this spiced beans thingy as a late lunch snacky. I didn’t want to be too full. Apparently, proteins and fats are the things that signal satiety to the brain (and apparently, I’ve watched too many videos on nutrition to fall asleep recently). Some sour cream would be nice, I thought. Or, sauerkraut -- a probiotic for my microbiome. Plus, the acidity goes well with the starches (think, salt & vinegar chips) and the lemon that I added wasn’t enough.
Another half stayed on the stove while I worked. Then my cat came over and was like, ATTENTION. I. Need. Attention. We played. He had a snacky and I went to heat up the leftovers. I mean, I was gonna eat these beans as is, but I hate wasting food even if the “food” is the stuff stuck to the pan (all the flavour is in there!).
So, I poured the last of my veggie stock over the beans. Apparently, incorporating broths into your diet is good for your tummy. That’s what a guy on YouTube told me, as did my grandmothers when I was a kid. My tummy’s been fucked for years. Did you know you can swallow air? I think I do that and now I try to be conscious about chewing. Have you ever tried being conscious about chewing? Felt the yummy food turn into an uneven mash in your mouth?
In went the stock. Bring to a boil. Add vermicelli -- legit, my favourite pasta, if you can even call it that -- for comfort. Extra salt. Take a sip. Oh yes, those chilli flakes have finally released the flavour. Add matsoni that’s in the fridge by a magic coincidence to counteract the as-fuck spiciness. Good? Good.
What am I listening to? Rihanna’s ANTI and this little thing called The Internet.