Homemade Junk Food

I wouldn't want our dear readers (all three of you) to think that the Athens kitchen is all homegrown vegetables, fresh baguettes, and demi-glace. Would that it were, but in that case we'd need a live-in sous chef and gardener.

In the absence of those, we depend on processed foods to fill out a week's menu. Among the indispensable items are canned beans -- flavorful, nutritious, and cheap. And, in my view, given their cheapness, it's worth paying the premium for organic canned beans, especially since big-box grocers, such as Kroger, are making organic canned vegetables available at pretty reasonable prices.

So, if you're hungry for nachos, you can make a very respectable batch of refried beans from canned beans in almost no time. Here's what you do:

Open two cans of brown beans (pintos or kidneys) and drain them. Heat about 1/4 cup of canola oil in a skillet at a medium heat until hot. Chop up an onion and a jalapeno or other hot pepper and add it to the oil. Cook until the onions are lightly brown, about 10 minutes or less. Add some ground cumin (2 tablespoon works for me) and about 1/4 tsp of cayenne. Cook, stirring constantly, for a minute. Remove from heat. Put the onion/pepper mixture into a food processor with the beans. Process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Load this onto tortilla chips and top with some grated cheddar cheese, heat in a 350-degree oven for 10 minutes or so, and you have fed your family.