Beans, Beautiful Beans

I'm revising a novel while trying to figure out electronic teaching via Moodle. The teenagers, lovely people when they aren't ripping each others' heads off, are not enjoying quarantine. In other words, I didn't have time to soak the Brazilian beans. But I had three 400-gram cans of black beans, red bell peppers, red onions, garlic, scallions, fresh cilantro, salt and pepper. That's all you need. Throw a little olive oil in the pan, hack the peppers, let 'em sizzle, chop the onions, throw 'em in, garlic likewise. Lots. Around a tablespoon of cumin. Yum. Stir. The onions and garlic need time to get a little transparent before you add the drained, rinsed beans. Also a little water, maybe a cup. Doesn't hurt to add a tablespoon or so of any vinegar you can reach, red wine being best, but I used apple cider vinegar to good effect. Salt, pepper, plenty. Stir, toss in a bay leaf or two. Let boil, turn down. Cover and while it's simmering, pour yourself a glass of red wine. Sip and contemplate life. Slice the scallions, likewise, but gently, the coriander. Add, stir, cover. This is what you get:

Genuinely easy--ten or fifteen minutes.

Feel free to have some taco chips with this.

Meanwhile, you've made rice. I rinsed the leftover sticky rice and used half of that, half risotto rice, which turned out fine. Slice lime, squeeze over the plate of rice and beans. Pour yourself a little more red wine, watch the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy, feel your blood pressure sink.