the soaking aside, this is a simple delicious one pot meal. it makes enough to serve four w/ leftovers and is filling in a lovely way. it easily doubles, but you'll need a large pot as both the rice and beans have a tendency to expand.
1 cup red kidney beans -dry
1 cup brown rice
1 can coconut milk **strive for organic to eliminate bothersome preservatives
1 bunch scallions -chopped, both white and green parts
3 jalapeno peppers -seed and chop
3 cloves garlic -mash and chop
2 teaspoons thyme -dry
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon dried green peppercorns -crushed (I pick em out of the gourmet pepper mix)
...this recipe takes some preplanning...
The night before or early the morning of (at least 10-12 hours ahead of time) put beans in a large bowl and cover with warm filtered water put the rice in a another bowl and cover with filtered water and add 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice, cover both bowls w/ a plate and leave on the counter or a warm place. once beans are finished soaking, strain, rinse and put in a pot, cover with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil, continually skimming the bubbles and gunk that rises to the top. keep the beans at a hardy boil for 10 minutes before putting a lid on it and simmering for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, strain the rice and rinse well, set aside. prep all the remaining ingredients and add to the rice.
Once the beans have simmered the 30 minutes, add the coconut milk stir well and add the rice (which now has all the other ingredients in it) and stir again. add more water
if needed to cover the mixture by 2 inches and bring back to a boil. cook over a medium heat till the liquid reduces to the top of the beans and rice, stir, put a lid on it and cook on the lowest of low another 30 or till the rice is done...it’ll be hard but at least let it cool enough to not burn your tongue...
serving ideas
top w/ meat sauteed in vinegar, tamari, oil and onions
top w/ steamed kale
eat it cold w/ blue corn tortilla chips (funky but a personal favorite)
homemade cornbread or polenta... mmm, pretty tasty combo
variations
instead of dried thyme, toss in a few sprigs of oregano from your garden
no scallions? substitute 1/2 cup or so of chopped onion
try different varieties of peppers as they come into season at your farmers market