Jumpin' Jack (Vegan and Rice Free Hoppin' John)

It's Meatless Monday! I decided to make a sort of version of Hoppin' John, a southern, slightly spicy dish made with rice, bell peppers, celery, black eyed peas, and bacon or ham of some sort. It's sort of like the white bean version of red beans and rice, in my opinion. I wanted to make it with barley instead of rice but after I was already cooking I realized I didn't have quite a full cup of barley. I decided to do half barley, half quinoa, but you could do either on their own. Also I did not have black eyed peas but I did have cannellini and to me, there's really not much difference other than aesthetics. Since it's Monday, I just left the meat out all together.
  This was yummy, especially with  braised kale greens and cornbread!
(On that note, I used Bob's Red Mill gluten free cornbread mix with Ener-G Egg Replacer, Soy Free Earth Balance Buttery Spread, and water instead of milk/dairy free milk. They were moist and delicious!)

Vegan and Rice Free Hoppin' John

1 Tbl olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped (red would also be great)
2 cloves minced garlic
2 cup vegetable stock or broth, soy free
1/2 cup quick cooking barley*
1/2 cup quinoa*
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 cans cannellini beans or black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
*you could use both of these or 1 full cup of either

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook until the vegetables are soft, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 min. Add vegetable broth, barley/quinoa, thyme, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, and salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15-20 minutes, until barley and quinoa are cooked and there is no liquid left. Remove from heat and stir in beans. Let sit for 5 minutes to heat beans through and serve.