¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo! - Mexican rice recipe

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Yesterday was my daughter's birthday and we decided to celebrate it along with an early Cinco de Mayo (we are hosting her birthday party with her friends on Sunday, so I will be too tired to spend a lot of energy on planning a nice dinner when everybody leaves!!!)  And since the weather was summer-like, we were able to have dinner outside and the kids played in the pool when we were done.  That's right, our pool is ready for the summer.  We always like to get an early start since the kids like to swim when they come home from school, and once September rolls around, they loose interest quickly.  We figure it is worth the investment to heat it up early.  It was a nice 83 degrees...too cold for my precious little self ;-) but perfect for the kids!

Mexican food is really my favorite food, so celebrating Cinco de Mayo with great recipes is not so hard for me to do.  I had recently been craving a Mexican rice that I used to make when I was in University.  It is simple to make and great tasting. And for the first time in a while, the kids didn't put up a fight as they do when I serve them something new or that they haven't had for a while. 
 

Mexican Rice



Ingredients

2 tsp. sunflower oil
1 cup of water
1 clove garlic
1 onion finely chopped
4 mysteriously sweet long red pepper diced
3 cups of corn
2 cups (or one 19oz can) red kidney bean
2 cups (or one 19oz can) black beans
1 can (28oz) organic diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups long grain rice cooked according to directions
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder

Method

In a large skillet heat oil and water.  Add onion, garlic, peppers and corn and cook on medium heat for approximately 10 minutes.  Add tomatoes, black beans and red kidney beans.  Cook for an additional 5 minutes.  Add cooked rice and spices and simmer for another 1 minutes.

For health benefits, make sure you really do use brown rice.  It is not as processed as white rice and therefore is more nutrient rich.  According to the George Mateljan Foundation, the process that produces white rice simply leaves us with "a refined starch that is largely bereft of its original nutrients."  Even when companies add back vitamins B1, B3 and Iron (which is enforced by law by the USDA) it is still missing 11 nutrients.      


Special note:  When I make it for my kids, I tone down the spices in the following way :

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 tsp. cumin

On another note, if you are in the Montreal area today, be sure to check a wonderful event called First Fridays.  It is the largest gathering of street food kitchens in Quebec.  It takes place in the Olympic Park (on the Sun Life Financial esplanade) from 4pm to 11pm.  It will be held on the first Friday of each month until October 4th. 

Have a great week-end!
Amelie