Comfort where you least expect to find it...

BLACK-EYED PEA SALAD WITH BASIL AND GARLIC:

I made this meal after a long day of school and work. I was starving and running low on
ingredients and inspiration. As anyone who loves food and cooking as much as I do knows, it's a terrible combination.

I was going to the store the next day, but I had to find something to make for dinner in the meantime. I was craving comfort food, but I wasn't in the mood for pasta. So I turned to another option: rice and beans.

Anyways, when I looked at what was left in my pantry, I noticed that I had a can of black-eyed peas that had been sitting in my pantry for a few months. I also had some cooked rice in the fridge. I'm not the biggest celery fan, but for some reason, celery sounded good as well. I only used one clove of garlic because I have a fear that using more than 3 cloves at each meal is going to make garlic start oozing from my pores. I also added nutritional yeast to my meal for a hardier comfort food taste. It worked, but don't worry about it if you don't have it.

So, in under a half an hour, with very little inspiration and a sparse pantry, I somehow managed to come up with this. Hope you like it!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups brown rice, cooked according to package directions
1 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 cup celery, chopped
3/4 cup basil, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
1/2 cup white cooking wine
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast, optional
1-2 tbsp. olive or canola oil
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste

Serves 3 or 4.
Total Cook Time: 35 to 45 minutes.

Instructions:

1. Cook rice according to the package instructions. Once rice is cooked, pour the cooking wine in with it and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often so that it doesn't stick.

3. Add the celery, garlic, and onions to a pan with salt and pepper. Coat with olive
oil and cook on medium high heat for about 7 minutes. Stir in nutritional yeast. Add
basil and continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes.

4. Place rice on plate, add the veggies and the black-eyed peas.