Rice and Beans, you are my darling...

One of my favorite things in the world is a good rice and bean dish. I look forward to New Year's Day because I have to make Hopping John, by tradition. (Otherwise, really, New Year's can go jump off a cliff. Other than some possible time off work, I detest pretty much everything about it.)

So, when a friend asks me what to do with shelled edamame, vegetable bouillon cubes, and black forbidden rice, I am all over it. Especially since one of the things I really wanted to do as Christmas gifts for my family was to assemble a "favorites" cookbook for them and once again, I FAILED. My intention this year is to blog more often about food and recipes, so that at least it will be mostly written and just need to be assembled for next year.

( What follows is all about cooking, so skip if you couldn't care less )