Success!!!

Oh, happy day! Last night on the way home from after-school care, Henry asked what was for supper. "Rice and beans," I told him. "Yay!" he replied.

Are you kidding me!?! "Yay!" All right!

Lately I'd been throwing lots of air balls. Last week I made a corn chowder using Better than Boullion vegetable stock base that was so bad that I threw the entire batch away after I'd muscled down a bowl to prove "how good it was." It wasn't. And two nights ago I made a concoction that can only charitably be described as "loaf." I learned that there is such a thing as stretching a pound of meat too far.

My new favorite cookbook is Cheap. Fast. Good! by Beverly Mills and Alicia Moss. It is a textbook-thick tome detailing all kinds of money-saving, nutritious meals. Oh, did I mention the recipes come together really quickly? Granted, the Loaf recipe came from this book, but it redeemed itself in spades with its rice and beans recipe. I added a couple of Latin American flavorings I had around the house and came up with a keeper. Henry could not shovel it in fast enough. In fact, he had his mouth right next to the plate and was literally shoving the food into it with his spoon.

Jack, on the other hand, is on a one-molecule-only dinner kick and couldn't be troubled to eat anything. Too bad, more for us!

Riding on that success, I tried serving Henry some banana custard I'd made with some bananas that had been on the way out. No deal. Oh well, ya can't win 'em all!

So I guess there is hope after all for getting the kids to eat healthful vegetarian meals. Don't give up!

Rice and Beans
(adapted from Cheap. Fast. Good! by Beverly Mills and Alicia Moss)

1 c. rice
1 onion, chopped
1 T. vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 c. cooked black beans (or one can, drained and rinsed)
1 c. cooked red beans (or one can, drained and rinsed)
1 can chopped tomatoes, with liquid
1 c. frozen corn kernels
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cumin
1 t. ground coriander
1 packet Sazón Goya
1/2 c. Recaito Goya
Grated cheese and salsa for serving

Cook the rice in a steamer or in a pot on the stove with 2 c. water. While rice is cooking, heat a deep skillet over medium high. Add the oil, then the onion. When the onion is softened, add all the other ingredients. Continue cooking until the corn is heated through and the edge is taken off the garlic. Serve the bean mixture over rice in bowls.

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