Caribbean Brown Rice and Beans

This was one of the first allergy dinners I found for Asher that I really liked. It's stayed in the rotation for a while now, and I made this for dinner at a fabulous feminist retreat that Jessica organized this past weekend. It's easy to throw together and the ingredients (except the cilantro, which we bought there) survived the drive from Phoenix to LA and a day in the car quite well.

1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
½ t nutmeg
1 c brown rice I often use white rice because it cooks faster
1 can (14 oz) unsweetened coconut milk
1 c chicken or vegetable stock
1 t salt
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 mango, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
¼ c roughly chopped fresh cilantro
lime wedges for garnish

Preheat oven to 325° with rack in center.

In Dutch oven, heat olive oil. Add onion and garlic; cook until soft (5-7 min). Add nutmeg, stirring constantly, 1 min.

Add rice, coconut milk, stock, and salt. Bring to simmer. Cover and transfer to oven. Cook until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.

Add black beans, mango, red pepper and cilantro. Combine. Garnish with lime and serve. Lately, I've also enjoyed adding some diced advocado to the top, too.

Crock pot UPDATE: Saute onion and garlic. Pour into slow cooker and add rice, coconut milk, stock, salt and nutmeg. Set on high for 3 hours, stirring occasionally to save your air conditioning bill in the summer.