Red Beans & Rice

· 1 pound pinto beans (approximately 6 cups cooked)

· 2 quarts of tap water

· 1 pound pork sausage

· 1 large onion, chopped

· 4 stalks of celery chopped

· 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic

· 2 teaspoons salt

· Good shot of Tabasco Sauce

· Hot Cooked Brown Rice (double the recipe for the rice)

Soak the beans overnight in the tap water, or you can use the quick soak method. Bring them to a boil in the tap water, and then let them sit, covered, on the back of the stove for an hour or two.

After you have done the initial bean preparations let them boil for about an hour or until they are getting tender. While they cook you can prepare the vegetables and the meat. The onion, celery and garlic will need chopping.

Fry the sausage in a large skillet. Crumble it up with a fork as it cooks. Set the sausage aside until the beans have cooked at least an hour.

After the beans have softened up and are getting close to tender, it is time to add the rest of the ingredients. If your sausage is spicy, you may not want to add the Hot Sauce, so taste it before adding any willy-nilly. If your sausage is not spicy then a small shot of Hot Sauce will marry nicely with the rest of the dish. Simmer the beans, sausage and vegetables for about a half an hour longer, or until the beans are all the way tender. I put the brown rice on to cook right before I add the vegetables and sausage to the beans. This gets them both done at about the same time.

Serve this by scooping up a big glob of rice into a cereal bowl. Next ladle a goodly amount of the bean mixture on top of the rice. Eat with black pepper, and a little vinegar on the side, for tangy-ness. I like biscuits and all-fruit jelly with this dish. I make the biscuits right after the vegetables and sausage go into the pot. Enjoy --10-4 Willy