Harbor Restaurant and Bar's Jamaican Rice and Peas (Red Beans and Rice)

Ingredients

• 1 (16-ounce) package dried red kidney beans
• 10 cups, plus 4 cups water
• 3 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 coconut
• 3 scallions, sliced
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 pound butter
• 4 cups uncooked rice (recommended: Uncle Ben's Converted Rice)

Directions

Bring beans, 10 cups water, and garlic to boil at high heat. Simmer for about 1 hour or until beans are soft.

Crack coconut, remove shell, and cut meat into small pieces. Put half of the coconut into blender with 2 cups water and puree. Repeat for remaining coconut. Strain the coconut through a strainer squeezing the milk out of the coconut (you will end up with approximately 3 cups of coconut milk).

Add coconut milk, scallions, salt, and butter to the beans and bring to a boil. Then add rice and stir with a fork. Turn to low heat and cook for 30 minutes or until water is cooked out. Be sure not to stir the rice until water is gone.