And just before it became too bleak, a friendly black beans carton came to my rescue. ♥  I also had some pineapple sitting in the fridge which we had used with a meal the evening before, so suddenly, it was turning into a bit of a meal!  Now, I have used a fresh pineapple previously, and have to say, that it really does make a big difference to the taste. However, tonight’s meal had not been planned out, and so I had to go with the canned chopped organic version from our fridge – and it still turned out pretty fab!

The carton of organic black beans was low salt too, which was good (although I did add a pinch of salt to the mix, but I like that I am in control over how much I add.  Another ‘skip’ or cheat tonight was to use microwave to steam the rice.  With more time; preference would be to steam some rice in our steamer.   But speed was the need – for good food to get to our hungry tummies!

I cooked the rice first, and then drained the juice from the pineapple and mixed it with the cooked rice and let it soak for a while.

I’ve seen quite a lot of variations of black beans with rice and with pineapples before.  But I do like to add my own twist to them.  This one uses a little garlic salt, black pepper, bell pepper and lemon for contrast.  I also threw in a small amount of chopped red onion.

So here is tonight’s quick dish recipe (Total cooking time: Approx. 10 mins, although could be even faster, if happy with minimally cooked/raw pineapple!):

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups of white rice (or 2 microwave/boil pkts – this made enough for 3 x bowls)
• Can or fresh pineapple, chopped
• 1 carton/can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• orange/red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red or white onion
• 2 tbsp vegan margarine
• 1 tsp/pinch of garlic salt
• Pinch of black pepper
• Squeeze of lemon to taste

1. Start with preparing and cooking the rice (especially if steaming).
2. Pour the pineapple juice into the rice bowl to approx. 1 cup (if you have less, you can add some cold water to top it up – but not too much to dilute it).
3. When rice is ready, add to the juice bowl to and let the rice marinade/steep.
4. Melt the margarine in a large frying pan and cook the pepper and onions gently over medium heat.
5. Stir in the black beans.
6. Stir in the chopped pineapple (keep on low-medium heat).
7. Pour in the rice with juice.  Stir and cook for approx. 3 more minutes.
8. Add the salt and pepper to taste.
9. Serve into bowls – you could add a little sprinkle of fresh cilantro if you have some to hand.

This recipe made at least 3 decent-sized bowls…We had 2 x bowls tonight and I saved the remainder (I would estimate (approx. 1 and ¼ bowls left) in the fridge, ready to add to some salad leaves for a cold salad lunch tomorrow!