In case you were wondering - or more likely, in case I am wondering, at some yet-unknown point in the future - 3.12 lbs of dried chickpeas is too much for a 5-quart slow cooker. It was overly ambitious of me to even try. I think a bit over 2 lbs - maybe 2.5 - is about the limit.
In happier news, hey, I have *lots* of cooked chickpeas now.
1 (14oz) can fire-roasted tomatoes (Trader Joe's)
1/2 an onion, chopped
2 cans of beans (1 black, 1 garbanzo), rinsed
oregano
cumin
chili powder
Run the tomatoes through the blender to pulverize. This seems to help the consistency and flavor of the chili--it spreads the tomato taste through the chili better than individual chunks do.
Saute onions in oil until browned on the edges. Add tomatoes. Cook a little. Add beans and spices to taste. Add a little water if needed. Cook on medium for a while, until you get bored.
This tastes better with more cooking/the second day, and tastes oddly good with broccoli.
UPDATE: I often double this recipe and use a finely chopped green bell pepper (sauteed with the onion - generally added after it has sauteed a bit already) . Also I add a few cloves of garlic. Sometimes paprika. It's pretty good and pretty easy.
From the Goya website, with modifications
2 tsp. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp. salt
pinch of black pepper
1 tsp. sugar
pinch of oregano
1 bay leaf
1 can (15.5 oz.) Goya Black Beans, undrained
2-1/2 cups of water
1 cup long grain white rice
Saute onion, garlic, and green pepper in oil over medium heat until tender.
Add salt, pepper, sugar, oregano, bay leaf, beans, and water. Bring to a boil. Stir in rice. Cover, turn heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes.
The original recipe says to add vinegar and wine after cooking. I didn't.
The second time I made this I doubled the recipe and used dried beans--I cooked about 1/2 pound of dried black beans first. I also added the rice to the sauteed ingredients and stirred them around over low heat for awhile and then added the beans, water, and spices. It came out fine, and took slightly less time to cook (because the rice was in the pot as the water was coming to a boil.)
