When TA and I stopped in New Orleans on our cross country trek I finally tried red beans and rice for the first time.

It was out of this world delicious.

How has more soul food not made it to the Pacific Northwest? I feel like I've missed out on such a diverse cuisine by not experimenting more with the various regional 'delicacies' present in my own country.

I'm sure much of that will change now with our move to North Carolina - though I suppose I shouldn't lay into the soul food too much, I think we're all pretty familiar with what red beans and rice is well known for (possibly NSFW - for those of you at work, it's a song by the infamous Sir Mix-a-Lot).

That being said, while I'm not try to develop any more "back," as it were, I am definitely interested in eating delicious fudz. Here's my lower calorie version of red beans and rice:

Red Beans and Rice

Yields approx. 6 servings

1/2 tablespoon canola oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

8 oz. turkey smoked sausage, in bite size slices

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon Creole seasoning (I prefer Tony Chachere's)

2 cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

3 cups chicken broth

3 bay leaves

In a large skillet over medium-high heat sauté the onion, pepper, celery, and garlic in the canola oil about 10 minutes, or until softened. Add the turkey sausage, thyme and Creole seasoning. Cook about 5 minutes further, then add bay beans, broth, and bay leaves. Let simmer uncovered for about 1 1/2 hours, adding more broth or water if necessary. If a thicker consistency is desired, mash about half of the beans with a potato masher. Serve with white/brown rice.

Nutritional Estimate

This is a nutritional estimate, regard it as such.

1 serving = approx. 175 grams (this estimate does not include rice)

204 calories

30g carbohydrates

5g fat

13.5 g protein

I would also point out that this photo was taken after my camera did a direct nosedive on the tripod right into the bowl of red beans. After meticulously cleaning my lens - with only moderate ill effects like the lens cover no longer working properly - I can honestly say that the little Nikon Coolpix point-and-shoot cameras are like the Rambo of the photography world.