The Best Red Beans & Rice

Food & Drink

May 13

We are having unseasonably cool weather here in North Carolina. The high yesterday was 54 degrees and I froze to death all day long! When I was thinking about what to have for dinner, soup was the only thing that sounded good because I wanted something cozy and warming. I turned to my new cookbook, For the Love of the South by Amber Wilson, for inspiration and found her delicious recipe for Red Beans & Rice Soup. I tweaked it a little by cooking the dried beans in my slow cooker and adding Andouille sausage and it was the perfect dinner. Baldy ate at least 3 bowls which I think is excessive, but I was glad he liked it! I’ll definitely be having a bowl for lunch and I’m sure it’s even better the second day!

Just a note about this fabulous cookbook…

I was born in North Carolina and have lived here all my live so I’m definitely a Southern girl! Many people think that Southern food is all deep fried, greasy and unhealthy, but that is far from the truth. True Southern food (not the Paula Deen version), is healthy, uses fresh ingredients and is truly delicious. Of course, there are hush puppies and fried chicken, but every cuisine has deep fried food. For the Love of the South, Recipes & Stories from My Southern Kitchen is a cookbook filled with delicious truly Southern recipes. You’ll find everything from Spicy Roasted Okra to Honey Roasted Peach Buttermilk Ice Cream! I’m working my way through through this cookbook one recipe at a time and can’t wait to try every one!