Beans, Beans: The Wonderful Fruit

I really don't eat enough beans. They're so natural and whole foods-y. But I tend to eat more tofu, tempeh, seitan, and fake meaty stuff. When I see bean recipes, I usually just pass them by. But for some reason, I was drawn to Scott Jurek's Smoky Chipotle Refried Beans from Eat & Run. Probably just because ultramarathoner Scott Jurek came up with them, and well, he's awesome:

These are real made-from-scratch refried beans. I boiled some pintos in a Crock Pot with chipotle chilies, onions, and kombu. Then I pureed the beans and lightly fried them in olive oil. Wow! I've never made homemade refried beans. I don't think I'll ever eat the canned stuff again. Luckily, this recipe made 6 cups of refried beans, so needless to say, some are in my freezer.

On the side, I made some Jalapeno Fried Hominy from my cookbook — Cookin' Crunk: Eatin' Vegan in the Dirty South (due out any day now, y'all!):

I grew up hating hominy, but I learned to love the stuff when I tried my friend Wes' fried hominy. His recipe (with my own addition of fresh jalapenos) is in my cookbook.

Here's a full plate shot. Looks as good as any Mexican restaurant, right? You've got your rice and beans, hominy, homemade guac, and salsa. Ole!