Spicy Beans and Toast

San Francisco is, despite being in California, usually a cold and foggy place, as millions of tourists find out every year, to their shock and to my great amusement.

I like making this on cold days when I'm feeling relatively lazy and my kitchen ingredient free, but also feeling health conscious enough to avoid the urge to run down the street for a burrito.

1 can red kidney beans
2 teaspoons (coupla splashes) Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
pinch black pepper
pinch salt
pinch garlic powder
pinch crushed red pepper
pinch basil (optional)
Tabasco (optional)

Crusty french bread or biscuits.

Put the beans (undrained into a hot skillet and start adding all the other ingrediants. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and let it simmer for 8-15 minutes. Serve with toast, or poured over biscuits.

I also occasionally like to thicken this with an egg yolk, mixed in while the beans are simmering.

Disclaimer:

The fact that this recipe prominently features something that comes out of a can should in no way be interpreted as an endorsement of the "semi-homemade" travesty pushed upon the world by Sandra Lee. Meals from cans are an occasional time saver - not a way of life.

Who is Sandra Lee? The great Anthony Bourdain can explain better than I can:

SANDRA LEE: Pure evil. This frightening Hell Spawn of Kathie Lee and Betty Crocker seems on a mission to kill her fans, one meal at a time. She Must Be Stopped. Her death-dealing can-opening ways will cut a swath of destruction through the world if not contained. I would likely be arrested if I suggested on television that any children watching should promptly go to a wooded area with a gun and harm themselves. What’s the difference between that and Sandra suggesting we fill our mouths with Ritz Crackers, jam a can of Cheez Wiz in after and press hard? None that I can see. This is simply irresponsible programming. Its only possible use might be as a psychological warfare strategy against the resurgent Taliban--or dangerous insurgent groups. A large-racked blonde repeatedly urging Afghans and angry Iraqis to stuff themseles with fatty, processed American foods might be just the weapon we need to win the war on terror.