Slow cooker red beans 'n' rice recipe

Spot the deliberate mistake?

 This recipe has a certain nostalgia for me. I first cooked it from a student cook book as I first learnt to cater for myself and I also enjoyed it on a back packing trip all round the States which included a stop in New Orleans. Ah, happy days!

My old recipe, which has seen many an outing, uses kidney beans, ready-cooked and canned, but this recipe uses Aduki beans which are smaller and apparently more authentic. I did soak them after SkyRider's comments about not soaking beans after my post on black bean soup. I still won't soak them for everything but Aduki beans seem too like kidney beans for me to take any chances. 

Ingredients for 4:

500g / 2 cups Aduki beans, soaked over night
(or use a tin of ready-cooked kidney beans, rinsed, and only 3 cups or 750 ml water)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, sliced (it's a red one though in this photo!)
2 rashers smoked bacon, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
4 rings of jalapeno chilli, chopped
2.25L (10 cups) water
Tabasco to taste

Directions:

Mix together all the ingredients except the tabasco and cook on Low for 7-9 hours. Serve with rice. If you remember! Add tabasco to taste.

Verdict:

I liked this in terms of the taste. It could have done with more bacon (I couldn't get the traditional Andouille sausage and wasn't quite sure what would be the nearest available equivalent) but the smokey flavour was there. I think I prefer my normal version (which I have made in the slow cooker) with the tinned kidney beans because they retain their shape better and give a more interesting texture but it didn't taste bad with the Adukis. I had it with a dollop of natural yoghurt which was really good. .