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I’ve gotten spoiled by KS lately, who has been making me dinner when I get home from a late night at work or even later after a gym session. I think that when you get home at 8:30pm, I am not very drawn to my kitchen. Instead, I want to eat and be done with it all by 9pm. To make the matters more difficult, we have officially entered the autumn season as now days are shorter than nights (Hello, fall!) and unless I break down and get one of the funky flash attachments, I am going to be looking at pictures of sweaty, glistening food (gross!). And let me tell you, food that has that flash glow is just not appetizing. Not on pictures anyway.

But as much as I am going to lament my camera equipment deficiencies, I’m not going to budge and buy the pricey equipment just yet since purchasing $750 lenses while living on one income is a tad frivolous. I will sigh and swoon every time I look at B&H website, but I’ll hold my ground. Lens, oh beautiful, lovely, stunning lens - wait for me. You are now on my Wish List, and thus you know I have eyes only for you, but be patient, my lovely – we’ll be together soon!

But back to dinner – cooking at 8:30pm just doesn’t entice me, does that make me lazy? Hopefully not, especially, if KS gets to flex his creative muscle in the kitchen for you all to see. He is much more of a practical cook than I am, using what he has at his disposal, whereas I will get ideas from perusing an site after site after site. Not to mention blogs that give constant inspiration!

With the meal KS made last week of basmati rice and stewed beans with vegetables and herbs, we finally completed our white rice supply. No more white rice. The only rice that will cross our threshold now will be brown. Or wild. But not white. Did I mention we no longer stock white sugar either? It’s all either turbinado or demerara at Chez Radish. It's like we've become food racists!

The beans with vegetables and herbs were tremendous – the aroma of cooked cilantro and garlic was so seductive, I resisted the urge to lick my bowl clean. I mean, I already have food hands, I should probably try to maintain some decorum while eating. And it’s always good to take a break from animal-based protein. I often find meat or chicken too heavy for consumption at night. And the beans, I’m certain, can be served over just about any rice, or grain or even couscous, if you want to have some kind of a starch. Alternatively, you could just spread the beans over a toasted piece of rustic garlic-rubbed bread and enjoy a variation on a traditional bruschetta.

I get all confused when winter rolls around. Do I get excited over wearing sweaters, or do I sit around all mopey that we get three hours of daylight? Do I start making a list of all the stews and soups I can make or start a countdown to the springtime equinox? Being a creature of all things comfort-related, sweaters and food finally win out. Sure, I mope a little about how it’s cold and dark outside, but I mope while shoving a forkful of food into my mouth.

Last Friday, I invited a friend for dinner, but given my current job-seeking status, I spent the day running about without so much as having given a fleeting thought as to what I was going to feed my hungry, weekend-ready guest. I got home with only an hour to spare and had to think on my feet – fast. I had very little in my cupboards, and even less in the fridge. A can of cannelloni beans caught my eye. And thus a simple dish was born.

Whenever I am at an Italian restaurant, I always look for warmed cannelloni beans in the appetizer section. I find it filling, comforting and delicious. So I wanted to make warm cannelloni beans, but spruced up a bit. You know, for the holidays. I added tomatoes, basil, onion, and some other ingredients and it turned out incredibly well!

I am telling you, people, this recipe is so simple and so good that you will make it over and over again. Unless you hate beans. In which case, you’d probably never even try to make it in the first place. My guest had seconds. And thirds. And then complained that I didn’t make enough. Which was true, I was craving more of it myself.

If you plan ahead, unlike me, you can soak the beans and cook them, instead of resorting to canned ones. If, however, you’re like most people, you can hardly plan your next few hours, never mind dinner.