Red Beans and Rice Somewhere around 2003 I developed a taste for beans. Dunno how that happened. My Mother in Law makes red beans and rice that are quite nice, and this is her recipe. Ingredients 1 pound Dried red kidney beans (2.5 cups) 2 Qts. Cold water 1 meaty ham bone or a thick slice of raw ham cut into cubes 1/2 pound hot sausage sliced thick 1 bunch (6-8) scallions, including green tops (green onions) 1 green pepper, chopped 2 stalks of celery, chopped or sliced 3 medium sized onions (or 1 really large) chopped large pinch of ground thyme 4 bay leaves cayenne pepper or tabasco sauce salt & pepper to taste White rice (not instant) And Ham Too Rinse kidney beans twice, discard any that look bad. Put beans in big heavy pot (3-4 quart) Add water, ham and sausage. Set uncovered on a burner @ medium heat. While the beans are soaking & warming, chop & add scallions, green pepper, celery & onions. Add thyme & bay leaves. When mixture boils, reduce heat & cover. Stir every 20-30 minutes Cook for 3 hours. Mash 1/4 beans against side of pot. If they don't Mash easily, try again in 20 minutes. 40 minutes after mashing beans, taste & season with cayenne or tabasco sauce. (don't use too much, this is supposed to be deliciously warm and subtly flavored.) Cook for another 1/2 hr while preparing rice. Although this is one of those dishes that take a long time to cook it is well worth the time. I often start cooking this the night before and then just warm it or finish it the next night for dinner. Serves six. Notes and Hints and Stuff Hambone Connected to the Tbone For real New Orleans flavor, use andouille sausage and If you can find it Tasso ham. Tasso has a real smokey flavor. I like to at least use a ham bone to add to the flavor.