Belizean Rice and Beans

In my community, there is a 5k every Friday night in April.  Last year I ran two of the races.  I was feeling ambitious this year and signed up for all five.  

Each week I have ran a little faster then the week before.  I'm not surprised the first week was my slowest time.  I was a little sore that Friday, and I wasn't in a rush.  

I am surprised at my time from last week.  I didn't feel as energetic, but I still managed to cut 40 second off my time.  I was pushing myself, but I felt lethargic.  I'll see if I continue the trend had have a personal best this Friday.

When I was in Belize this February, I ate stewed chicken with rice and beans almost every day.  Earlier this week I posted a recipe for stewed chicken.  The rice in Belize tasted like coconut.  This recipe and the others I saw online all included coconut milk.  It makes for very tropical and flavorful rice.

The best rice we ate was at a restaurant in San Ignacio.  We ate at the restaurant a few times.  All the food was delicious, but we always commented on the outstanding rice and beans.  You know you can cook well when people comment on your rice and beans.

This rice and beans recipe came from allrecipes.com.  I added more coconut milk and used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil.  

The ingredients are 1 pounds dry kidney beans, 3 cloves garlic, 1/2 onion, 1/2 yellow been pepper, 1 teaspoon coconut oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1 cup white rice, 1 3/4 cups coconut milk, and 3/4 cup water.

I covered the dry kidney beans with water and soaked them over night.  The next day I drained the beans.  I poured then into a large pot and covered the with water.  I brought the water to a boil.  I added minced garlic.  I let the beans simmer for about an hour.  After an hour, they were tender.

I cooked the dry rice in a saucepan over low heat for three minutes.  The rice becomes toasted and fragrant.

I added coconut milk, the cooked and drained beans, the chopped onion, diced yellow pepper, coconut oil, salt, and pepper.  I covered the pan and brought the coconut milk and water to a boil.  I let it simmer for 35 to 40 minutes.

I ate this with the stewed chicken posted a few days ago.  The rice and beans were a perfect accompaniment.  

The rice was tender, and the beans were creamy.

It tasted tropical and savory.  It was a delicious side dish.

 I liked the bean to rice ratio.  At first, I thought there might be too many beans, but I think it was just right.

It wasn't as good as some of the rice and beans I had in Belize, but it still was appetizing and satisfying.  It was a comforting and filling meal.