Nanaimo Bars – Courtesy of AllRecipes

Recipe Here — https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/25095/nanaimo-bars-iii/

Image / Hannah Feist
Image / Hannah Feist

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Butter, Softened & Divided
  • 5 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 Cup White Sugar
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 3/4 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
  • 1 Cup coconut flakes
  • 1/2 cup chopped almonds (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons custard powder (pudding mix is a good alt)
  • 2 cups confectioners sugar
  • 4 squares (1 ounce) semisweet baking chocolate
  • 2 teaspoons butter

Directions

  • Combine 1/2 cup softened butter, cocoa powder, and sugar in a double boiler. Stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Beat in egg and stir until thick, 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Remove from the heat and mix in graham cracker crumbs, coconut, and almonds. Press into the bottom of an un-greased 8×8-inch pan.
  • For the middle layer, beat the remaining 1/2 cup softened butter, heavy cream, and custard powder until light and fluffy. Mix in confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Spread over the bottom layer in the pan. Chill to set.
  • While the second layer is chilling, melt semisweet chocolate and 2 teaspoons of butter together in the microwave or over low heat.
  • Spread melted chocolate mixture over chilled bars. Let the chocolate set before cutting into squares.

Classic Nigerian Jollof Rice recipe

INGREDIENTS

  • Raw rice
  • Vegetable oil
  • Onions
  • Tomatoes paste/crushed tomatoes
  • Pepper mix: blended tomatoes, bell pepper, habanero pepper, and onions.
  • Spices: curry, thyme, salt, bay leaves, knorr, pepper

DIRECTIONS

The first step in cooking Jollof rice is to parboil your raw rice.

In a pot, put 4 cups of room temperature water and place on the stove.

While the water is boiling, measure 2 cups of raw rice and pour it into a bowl.

Wash the rice 2 – 3 times until the water is clear and not white.

After washing the rice, sieve it out and pour it into the pot with boiling water

After 30 minutes of boiling, cover the pot and reduce the stove to medium or low heat.

Turn off the stove, when the rice is soft on the outside and hard on the inside. Then it is parboiled.

JOLLOF RICE SAUCE

In another cup pour one cup of groundnut oil.

Add your chopped onions and bay leaves to the pot.

Allow frying for at least 5 minutes.

Add your tomato paste or crushed tomatoes and let. it fry for 10 minutes on medium heat

Add your pepper mix into the pot and let it cook for 10 minutes

Then go in and add your spices.

Stir continuously till the spices are mixed well.

After 10 minutes of frying, add your parboiled rices to the sauce and mix.

Use aluminum foil to cover the pot and let it cook for 10 minutes.

Then your jollof rice is ready!

INDIAN CHICKEN CURRY

Recipe here: https://www.thespruceeats.com/basic-indian-chicken-curry-1957386

INGREDIENTS

  • Vegetable oil
  • Large onions, sliced thin
  • Large tomatoes, diced
  • 2 tablespoons garlic paste
  • 1 tablespoon ginger paste
  • 2 teaspoons coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Tumeric powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon red Chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 2 1/4 pounds (1 kilogram) chicken pieces of your choice, skin removed
  • 1 1/2 cups hot water
  • Chopped fresh coriander (cilantro), for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium heat and fry the onions until golden brown. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Turn off heat, keeping oil in the pan.

In a blender, grind the onions into a smooth paste, put in a bowl and set aside.

Grind the tomatoes, garlic paste, and ginger paste together into a smooth paste.

Heat the oil in the skillet again and add the onion paste. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and all the spices—coriander, cumin, turmeric, and red chili and garam masala powders. Mix well. (This is called masala.)

Fry the masala until the oil begins to separate from it.

Add the chicken to the masala and mix well, for about 8 minutes.

Add 1 1/2 cups of hot water to the chicken, simmer, and cover. Cook until the chicken is tender, for about 15 minutes.

Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with hot chapatis (Indian flatbread), naans (tandoor-baked Indian flatbread), or basmati rice.