Tardy Turtle is the latest addition to my list of variations on Hoppin\’ John. I used black beans, aka turtle beans, for this.

Black beans are one of my favorite legumes. They actually seem to have a slightly sweet flavor; maybe that\’s why!

I began the prep work day before yesterday. I cooked a big pot of brown rice; put what I\’d need for the Tardy Turtle in one container; and portioned out the rest for other uses. Then I put the dry black beans to soak overnight.

Yesterday morning, before I went out on the road bike, I drained the soaked beans and put them in the freezer. Later I chopped the cheese; celery; onion; and bell pepper. The can of diced tomatoes needed to be drained, too.

Today I cooked the beans with the celery. Then all I needed to do was drain the beans; and assemble the final dish. Naturally I had to sample it, but a good deal of it has gone into the freezer.

The cooking had to wait until after lunch. This morning I wanted to ride to the salvage store before it got too hot. And of all things, guess what I saw on the way there? A turtle!

It was crawling across the bike path. It was a big one, too; I\’d estimate that its carapace was about a foot long. I got a look at the turtle\’s head as I rolled by, and saw a patch of dusky orange. Therefore I suppose it was a type of slider; perhaps a pond slider? Or maybe a red-eared slider?

Turtles are not known for speediness. The one I saw this morning sure wasn\’t in any hurry. If it had been on its way to school, it would have been one Tardy Turtle.