You're A Vegan, What Do You Eat? (Adzuki Bean Edition)

It is almost October.  The mornings are cold (and dark) when I get up to run, and even though the temperature still rises to the mid-to-high seventies during the afternoons, it is time to face the facts: summer is coming to an end.

This is difficult for me to come to terms with.  There is not a whole lot in this world that I dislike more than winter.  So while the sun still shines, I figured I might as well write a post about adzuki beans, the main ingredient of one of our favorite summer meals.

 Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Azuki_Beans.jpg

Adzukis are small red beans, originating in East Asia, and often used in both sweet and savory dishes.  They are pretty easy to cook; that is, they seem to require less soaking and cooking time than do other beans I prepare.  Still, the creation of our summer adzuki bean dish requires a fair amount of planning ahead.

I start by soaking the beans, usually overnight, even though most websites say you don't actually need to soak them that long.  Then I rinse and boil them.  I use my patented foam skimming technique to make them digestive-system friendly, but that is probably not really necessary.  These beans rarely have much in the way of foam on top.

I cook them until they are tender, which probably takes 45 minutes give or take.  After rinsing them and letting them cool a bit, it is time to add the stuff that makes it delicious.

I add a ton of chili powder and some sea salt.  I stir that up and then go for the vegetables: chopped tomatoes, peppers, green onions, cilantro, and avocado.  Avocado is key.

This is probably one of my all-time favorite meals, though unfortunately, William will not eat it.  

I guess it doesn't look all that pretty, but it tastes really good.  As you can see, it makes a gigantic quantity, so we usually eat it for 2-3 nights in a row (and there's enough for me to take for lunch as well).  I douse mine with hot sauce.  I try to remember to take out some of the beans before I add all the vegetables and set them aside for William.  He will eat adzuki beans if I mix them up with rice or quinoa, just not once I've added all the chopped vegetables to them.

I did not invent this recipe on my own.  The inspiration for this dish comes from Healthy Green Kitchen.  The original recipe has a lot of other suggestions for how to prepare adzuki beans, but I've never tried anything other than the chili powder, avocado, peppers/tomatoes/onions creation.  Just about the perfect thing to eat on a hot day.

Thanks for reading!