So, adobo means spicy? Since when???

In my continual quest to expand my cooking experience, I once again decided to make 2 count 'em 2 dishes for 1 meal. I decided to do a little spin on "beans and rice" but since nothing about that sounds all that exciting, I went to Veganomicon. That cookbook makes my boring little life ever so much more delightful.

I decided to make the Chickpea Quinoa Pilaf as the base and then top it off with the Black Beans with Chipotle Adobo Sauce. Sounded simple enough. Had all the ingredients. I thought it all looked like a winning combination.

So, I started with the pilaf. What the heck is pilaf anyways? Glad you asked, because I dictionary.com-ed that very question and here is what I found. Pilaf: a Middle Eastern dish consisting of sautéed, seasoned rice steamed in bouillon, sometimes with poultry, meat or shellfish.

Well, if that's the definition, then this dish really WASN'T pilaf since quinoa is not rice, and there was no bouillion, poultry, meat or shellfish...

So...this is now awkward.

Anyways, I cooked it.

And I screwed up.

Here's what I did wrong:
-I bought coriander seed. I'm a dumby. As I began cooking, I realized I neglected to note that the coriander seed needed to be manually ground. So, there I was banging on those little buggers with the bottom of a knife trying to simultaneously crush them while also not killing myself. I only half succeeded. Thankfully, Matt reminded me that we have ground coriander. I used that, and then promptly updated my wedding registry to include a mortar and pestle for moments such as this.
-I tried to go all old school and cook the dried chickpeas myself. Bad idea. They did not cook all the way and therefore made the whole meal quite labor intensive on the chewing end. Oh well...I tried.

Other than those incidents, the "pilaf" turned out alright. It was a little bland though. Thank God the beans took care of that...and then some.

I then went on to the Black Beans with Chipotle Adobo Sauce also from Veganomicon.

This recipe seemed super easy. But this is where the real trauma sets in.

It's no secret that Matt and I love spicy food. We add "Rooster" Sauce to everything and even request "Extra Spicy" in Thai restaurants. So, we basically exist thinking that we must double if not triple the spicy factor whenever we cook from a recipe.

This recipe called for 2 chipotles in adobo sauce.

We used 6.

I almost threw up it was so spicy.

We were both sweating and I had to lie down after eating to allow for recovery.

Aycarumba. Never again.

Otherwise, this stuff was great!

Here are the beans cooking away...

And here is the sauce of Satan:

And here is the final product. Honestly, isn't this just beautiful (I hate it when people talk about food like this, but I get it...it really was pretty)?

I think I may need to try this recipe again, only with the called for number of adobos.

Here's the recipe for the Quinoa Chickpea Pilaf from Veganomicon:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped finely (about one cup)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon coriander seed, crushed (spice grinder or mortar and pestle)
fresh ground pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup quinoa (rinsed well)
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or 2 cups cooked)
2 cups vegetable broth (or reconstituted bullion)

Directions:

In a small stockpot over medium heat, saute the onions in olive oil for about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 2 more minutes.

Add the tomato paste, coriander, cumin, black pepper, and salt; saute for another minute.

Add the quinoa and saute for 2 minutes.

Add the chickpeas and broth; cover and bring to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling, lower the heat to very low, cover, and cook for about 18 minutes, or until the quinoa has absorbed all the water; stir occasionally.

Fluff with a fork and serve.


And here's the recipe for the Black Beans with Chipotle Adobo Sauce, also from Veganomicon:

Ingredients:

Beans
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 bay leaf
3 cups cold water
1 large onion, peeled and halved
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Chipotle adobo sauce
1 large onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 chipotle chiles in adobo, minced
2 tablespoons adobo sauce

Directions:

Combine the beans, onion, bay leaf and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then let boil for 1 minute. Lower the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 40 minutes, until the beans are very tender and about half the water has evaporated. Remove the bay leaf and onion before serving.

While the beans are cooking, prepare the chipotle adobo sauce: In a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil until the onion is very soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the chipotles and adobo sauce, cook for 30 seconds, and remove from heat.

Allow to cool a few minutes, empty the sauce into a food processor bowl, and briefly pulse until a chunky sauce forms. You may also use an immersion blender to do this. Serve the sauce drizzled over individual servings of beans.