-Coconut makes me feel like I'm transported to vacation.
It makes me feel a little like I'm drinking
a piña colada on the beach.
Just that sense, that smell that goes into your bones,
that's what I'm looking for during this time.
One of the things that's great about this recipe
is it gives you ideas for other ways to use rice.
So you don't just have to use,
like, water or broth to make rice.
You can use all different kinds of liquid.
In this, we're using coconut,
which is going to infuse the rice with that flavor
but still make it an amazing side dish
for pretty much any meal.
First step is easy.
Get a pot.
Next, when you go to the store,
there are, like, three types of coconut milk.
There's coconut cream, there's coconut milk,
and there's light coconut milk.
The kind you want to get is just regular coconut milk.
Because if you get the light kind,
all it is, is watered down, and I'm not paying for water.
So when you open a can of regular coconut milk,
you're gonna see a layer of coconut cream at the top.
If you see this, all you need to do is mix it up.
You can do it in the can, or you can do it in the bowl.
This one's a little difficult, so I'm gonna do it in a bowl.
And I'm just gonna whip it up with a whisk.
If you don't have a whisk, you can do this with a fork.
So you can see, the milk at the bottom
and the cream are coming together,
and that's making a consistent coconut milk.
So we have a cup of coconut milk.
You can see that it's pretty consistent, so that's good.
And now we need a cup of water on top.
Foamy. [chuckles] That's normal.
And I'm going to put this in my pot.
I'm using a pretty small pot.
There you go.
Now I'm going to put in about half a tablespoon of butter.
It's optional, but I think it gives
the rice a rich texture, and I really like it.
It brings out the coconut and the lime.
Boop.
Next, we need the juice of one lime.
If you're using bottled lime juice,
which is totally fine, it's about 2 tablespoons.
Ooh, it's creaky.
[creaking] When you're done juicing,
you want to save this, because we're gonna use
the zest of the lime to finish the rice after it's done.
The lime juice goes into the pot.
Cooking with citrus when you're stuck inside is so important
because it brings the flavors of the outdoors in.
It's a fresh-tasting thing, and the smell is amazing.
When you're done zesting these,
definitely put them in the garbage disposal.
It's like having a lime-scented candle in your house
for a couple of hours.
Fantastic.
Okay, then we've got a cup of brown rice.
I use brown rice because there are a lot of studies
that show that people who eat whole grains
have a lower incidence of anxiety,
and I really need that right now.
And one teaspoon of kosher salt.
This is really going to bring out the flavors
of the coconut and the lime.
Okay, now you just stir it to combine
everything that you got going on here in this pot.
So, we're taking this pot over to the stove.
We're going to bring it to about medium heat and let it boil.
When it starts to boil, turn it to low, put a top on it,
and check on it in about 20 minutes.
It takes about 45 to cook.
So, it's been about 45 minutes.
The rice is creamy and gorgeous and done.
So you can see that the liquid's been absorbed.
The rice is still a little firm.
That's what gives it a gorgeous bite in your mouth.
If you put this in a burrito or a grain bowl
or even just a side dish, it's really gonna stand out,
because of the flavors and the textures.
Look at steam, oh!
And this is where no food waste comes in.
Take the lime that you juiced and zest it over the top.
Zesting is when you take the lime peel
and just grate a little bit off
so you get that extra limey flavor.
If you don't have a zester, that's fine.
I'm not gonna utensil shame you.
All you need to do is cut the green part off of the lime
and just, like, mince it very finely on a board.
This is gonna give it a really good finish
and make it look even more beautiful.
The great thing about this is that it's a pretty simple
cooking project with a big payoff.
And a lot of research studies show that doing small projects
are really good for anxiety and depression.
Just any kind of small project,
but especially small cooking projects,
because at the end of this,
it's going to help make you feel better.
Here comes a vacation via food.
I'm Mary Beth Albright with The Washington Post.
We're going down this rabbit hole together.
Thanks for making me feel a little bit better
by making something with you.