Title: Mexican bean and rice casserole
 Categories: Vegetarian, Vegan, Main dish
      Yield: 6 Servings
 
      1 tb Oil
      1 lg Onion; chopped
      2    Celery stalks; chopped
      1    Red bell pepper; diced
      3 c  Red kidney beans; cooked
           Enough liquid from cooking
           -the beans to make a puree
      6 oz Tomato paste
      1 ts Cumin
      1 ts Chili powder
      1 ts Basil
    1/2 ts Oregano
        pn Cayenne, if desired
      3 tb Shoyu or tamari
      1 c  Arame; soaked (optional)
      4 c  Brown rice; cooked
    1/2 c  Parsley; chopped
      3 lg Tomatoes, ripe; sliced
      5    Garlic cloves; pressed
 
   Heat the oil in a large skillet and saute th eonion, celery and red
  pepper till almost tender.
  
   Blend together the beans, a small amount of the liquid from cooking
  them (about 1/4 cup), the tomato paste, the spices, and the shoyu or
  tamari in a blender or food processor tomake a puree. Transfer the
  puree to a large bowl.
  
   Add the sauteed vegetables and the soaked arame (if desired) to the
  bean puree and mix well.
  
   In a separate bowl, mix the rice and parsley together.
  
   Oil a large, deep baking dish. Place half of the rice in the bottom
  of the dish. Spread half of the bean mixture over the rice, top it
  with half of the sliced tomatoes, and then distribute half of the
  pressed garlic over the tomatoes. Repeat the layers.
  
   Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
  
   Delicious with steamed artichokes and a big green salad.
  
   From the files of DEEANNE