Dukan Diet

I don't remember my mother cooking black beans when I was a kid, but sometime after I left home she must have started using them, because they became my father's favorite type of bean, and any dish that had black beans was something he would enjoy.  I was thinking about that as I missed him on Father's day, and remembered all the black bean salads I made for him the last few years of his life when he was in an assisted living center where I'd visit twice a week and cook lunch.  My dad could be a picky customer when it came to trying new dishes, and I doubt he ever heard of vegan food, but I'm betting he would have enjoyed these Slow Cooker Vegan Brown Rice Mexican Bowls with Black Beans, Bell Peppers, and Poblano-Avocado Salsa, if only because of the black beans, rice and avocados; three foods he always loved.   Using the slow cooker to cook the rice and then heat together the chopped peppers, green chiles, and black beans kept the house cool, and I thought one of these Mexican bowls made a perfect Slow Cooker Summer Dinner.

This new recipe for A Month of Daily Phase One Recipes is the firstborn child of my Green Chile Mexican Casserole with Ground Beef and Layered Mexican Casserole with Chicken (that are also Phase One), and once Jake and I had the idea of trying to create a vegetarian casserole with some of those same flavors, it took us three tries to get it right.  But this final version is a definite winner, with all the flavors that make bean and green chile burritos such a favorite of many people.  Even though casseroles aren't too photogenic, I love them for the way the flavors combine to make a sum that's greater than the parts, and a leftover casserole like this in the fridge is always a nice benefit.

In Utah it's expected to hit 104F this week, and it seems likely we're going to set a record this summer for the most days above 100F.  I hear some people lose their appetite when the weather is extra hot, but that never happens to me; in fact when summer produce is abundant I'm always thinking up new ways to use it.  My latest experiment was this Julienned Zucchini Vegan Mexican Bowl with Black Beans, Avocado, Tomato, Poblano, and Lime, and the fact that the only cooking involved was 2-3 minutes to quickly saute the julienned zucchini made this a great hot-weather dish.   If you like zucchini and you're looking for a light summer meal where you don't need to heat up the kitchen, I bet you might enjoy this as much as I did.