Make some rice. Basmati is preferable, but any kind will do. Even brown if you’re a hippy type.

While the rice is cooking, put a tablespoon of olive oil into a deep skillet.

Cut up an onion (red onion is yummy for this recipe) and let it cook while you cut up a green bell pepper, which you throw in as well. Let those cook for a minute or so, then add a decent amount of garlic.

Mix in a can of kidney beans, and a can of diced tomatoes, juice and all.

Dump a can each of black beans and garbanzos in a colander and rinse all the crap off of them.

Put three tablespoons of peanut butter, a tablespoon of curry, a tablespoon of ginger, a teaspoon of cumin, a teaspoon of salt, and a bit of cayenne pepper into the skillet and gently stir until incorporated.

Now mix in the black beans and garbanzos and let the whole thing simmer until your rice is done.

Enjoy with your favorite gamelan music and shadow drama.

If you already have the spices, the whole thing will cost around $5 for 4 servings.

Looking at my roster of students, it’s obvious the crappy economy has taken its toll. With people trying to save money and take time off for Christmas, my wallet is as slim as it’s been in many-a-year. If you’re reading this, and you don’t see me on a weekly basis or you won’t be visiting me us for Christmas, I love you, but don’t count on a present.

We spend an amazing amount of money on food. We’re at the grocery store several times a week, and I have a severe addiction to eating out, especially Asian food. Though I’ve gone from eating out nearly every day to maybe once or twice a week, it’s money that could be better spent elsewhere.

So I’m going to give it a shot.

• I like casseroles, and I like for Sarah to get her veggies, so I’ll probably be making lots of things like spinach lasagna.
• I’m figured out that I spend $472.15 annually on beverages at the deli next to the music store where I teach. I’m going to brew my own tea instead. If I put the $10 in a jar every week, that would be a nice Christmas fund.
• I love pasta. I don’t mind eating it every night, but for my sanity, I need some variety. I need some cheap, easy recipes.
• A major challenge is Sarah’s non-meatatarianism. I don’t mind eating (and cooking) vegetarian, but it has to be yummy.
• I don’t want to eat lots of hotdogs and bologna sandwiches.

Any ideas out there?

Sarah really likes the vegetarian black bean soup from Panera, but a) we’re poor and b) I really like to cook. Here’s a recipe that is just as good if not better.

Drain four cans of black beans and rinse them in a colander.

Chop and sautee in olive oil 1 large onion, 6 cloves of garlic, 4 stalks of celery, 1 red bell pepper until transluscent. Add half the beans, two or three cubes of vegetable bullion and a couple of cups of water. Simmer for five or ten minutes.

Take the whole mess and put it into a blender, food processor, or what have you. Puree the hell out of it, then dump it back into the pot.

Juice two lemons into the soup. Watch for the seeds. No one likes lemon seeds.

Add the rest of the beans and let simmer for as long as you can stand it.

Serve with tortilla chips or crusty bread, top with cheese, maybe some sour cream. Enjoy.

Last weekend I was sick. I was afraid I had the swine flu and kept myself in bed, quarantined from Parker and Sarah for three days. It was hell. Strangely, I wasn’t running a fever. I guess it was just the worst case of allergies I’ve ever had.

I had two articles published on The Dice of Life, a role-playing game blog targeted to adult gamers with jobs and families.

Josh and I played at Stephen Penley’s opening at The Albany Museum of Art. It was a 2.5 hour drive, but they loved us, want us back, and it’s nice to get paid $100 an hour for jamming with a good friend. We ate at Steak & Shake on the way home.

Mom and Sarah went to the Kid’s Clothes Connection and Mom totally spoiled Parker. He scored a new wardrobe full of clothes, tons of toys, a cool art desk, and the world’s most awesome trike.

Last night, I watched Anthony Bourdain eating Pho’ in Vietnam. This triggered a massive Pho’ craving that caused me to watch YouTube videos of people making Pho’ for the next hour and my talking about Pho’ with all of my friends who were unfortunate enough to be online (actually only John…sorry John).

Today, I spent way too much money on Pho’ ingredients. But it turned out really, really well, and now I can have Pho’ whenever I want.

I’m having a serious pho craving. It’s painful. If Saigon Deli were open at 11:20 pm, I’d drive an hour to Montgomery. No problem.

A cup or so of diced onions, celery, and peppers which is sold combined and frozen. These were caramelized in a couple of tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil.

Six cans of garbanzo beans, which were a dollar each. They were rinsed well, placed in the pot with enough water to cover them, and then boiled along with a 1 lb. bag of frozen spinach. I added a small handful of cumin, a smaller handful of cayenne pepper, some salt, and about a 1/4 cup of cheap red wine vinegar.

In another pot, I heated a 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil and fried six or seven cloves of garlic until they were golden brown and crunchy. Removed. I then browned five slices of daily-special french bread until golden brown and crunchy. All of the golden brown and crunchy things were mashed in a bowl.

I poured the mashed-up stuff into the boiling mixture of garbanzos and spinach and let simmer…