Jamaican Rice and Peas

This is a staple in Jamaica. I love this dish a lot. Instead of white rice, I use brown rice because it's a lot healthier and has more nutrients than white rice. In fact, most of the nutrients are stripped from brown rice when it's polished down to make white rice. Studies have shown that eating two servings of brown rice a week can reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes, compared with white rice that actually increases your risk.

This is a perfect dish for a vegetarian because there is no meat, and the peas (kidney beans) are a great source of protein and iron.

Ingredients

• 3 cups of rice
• 1 can of kidney beans
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 uncut scotch bonnet pepper or habanero
• 3 scallions, crushed, not chopped
• 1 can of coconut milk
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 sprigs of thyme

Instructions

1. Boil seven cups of water
2. Add rice, beans, garlic, pepper, scallions, and coconut milk, salt and pepper to the boiling water. Let boil for a minute and reduce heat to low
3. Cook for about 40 minutes or until the rice has absorbed all of the liquid
4. Remove the scallions, thyme twigs, and scotch bonnet or habanero