Sometimes... coriander rice and beans

Sometimes when I feel like my finances have gotten out of hand, I resort to eating rice and beans, which have developed a reputation for being cheap eats. Here is one of the ways I cope with being poor.



Coriander rice
I stumbled upon this recipe for coriander rice on Epicurious. It sounded super easy, plus I love the flavor of coriander. I've tried the original method making this on the stove-top with chicken broth (but using sauteed onion in place of shallots), but here I tried it with plain water, no shallots/onions, and cooked in my rice cooker.


Both ways are fantastic. Making it in a rice cooker is a thousand times easier. I love plain rice, but it's also nice to have a little variation. This rice also goes well with Indian food.


Black beans
For the bean part of this meal, I used some black beans (originally made in the oven). I use a method similar to making chili: saute onions, stir in a mixture of spices (here: cumin, chili powder, coriander, cayenne, paprika, salt, pepper), add beans and simmer, add liquid if needed. For this batch, I also added some canned green chiles.

Sometimes I'll get more creative and add some chopped bell peppers or jalapenos, but then it starts to veer away from being easy and cheap.


I like to smoosh down the beans as I go, which thickens the whole mixture. Salt and pepper to taste.



Sometimes I go crazy with toppings and I'll add chopped avocado, or guacamole, or salsa verde.

Sometimes a simple topping of chopped tomatoes will suffice.