What to do with beans

It's a dilemma, but those dried black beans are begging to be thrown into the slow cooker with some water for the afternoon. I can always decide what to do with them later.

Later in the evening, the no-longer-dried black beans are insisting on being left alone until morning. I comply. It seems rude to force a decision upon them so close to midnight.

By morning, the black beans still have no firm opinion on what they want to be, but the end of the bottle of cab sav is rather persistently suggesting itself as a protagonist.

There's an onion that's dying to get in on the act, and the garlic is practically jumping out of its container. A tin of tomatoes is lurking behind the cupboard door, too shy to put itself forward, but obviously eager to come play. As for the dried chilli flakes... well... give them an inch, they take a mile. Give them a teaspoon, they take lots.

The whole mess is now politely suggesting that it be slow-cooked for the day.

By evening, the low-fat cheese is asking for lashings of itself to be combined with the black bean cab sav onion garlic tomato chilli flakes, in conjunction with some warmed best-by-er-oh-a-month-or-so-won't-matter-they're-sealed-up-with-those-little-dessicant-sachet-thingies-and-anyway-they-look-fine tortillas.

It seems they decided to be vegetarian chilli con carne.