coconut brown rice and black beans

Don't hate on me for stroking my own ego (hey, somebody's gotta do it) but last night's experimental dinner was divine. The coconut brown rice, while not entirely coconut-y enough (will try using a different brand next time), came out luxuriously creamy and almost risotto like. The flavorful and practically stupid easy black beans, thank you Goya and fresh veggies, were the perfect ying to the rice's yang and the pieces of fresh cilantro just sealed the deal. And right alongside this power couple was an avocado, red onion, and iceberg salad. Meatless, light, and crazy inexpensive, it tasted nothing less than an indulgent treat.

Coconut Brown Rice

3/4 cup lite coconut milk
1/4 cup water
1/2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup brown rice

Add the coconut milk, water, butter, and salt to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the rice, stir, cover and lower the heat drastically. Allow to cook for 15 minutes. Remove lid, stir, and taste. If it's still crunchy, stir in a little more coconut milk, cover and turn the heat off. Allow it to sit for a few minutes.

Stupid Easy Black Beans

1 can black beans
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, grated
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt

Fresh Cilantro for garnish

In a medium-sized saucepan, add a drizzle of olive oil over medium high heat. Add in the peppers, red onion, and garlic and allow to gently sweat for about 3 minutes. Open the can of beans and quickly rinse the beans. Add them to the pan along with the chili powder and salt, stir and reduce the heat to medium. Let the beans cook for 7 minutes or longer (just reduce the heat to low if you're going to go longer than 7 minutes). Serve with plenty of fresh cilantro on top.