Blog / African Cuisine

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food.

We love the name of this simple vegetable stir fry! Sounds like the lead in for a disco song - Chakalaka - Chakalaka! Can't you just hear it? You can pair this recipe up with almost anything! It can be a side dish or, as we mostly enjoy it, all on it's own! Super simple to make and just plain delicious. The trick is to not over-cook the vegetables. We like ours still a bit "crunchy".

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We love sharing our family recipes with you but please remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish and other terrific African recipes. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes. We just came across a terrific culinary resource - afrolems.com - A food blog for Nigerian, African and Interational recipes. Visit them - they have a really nice selection of recipes and the instructions are laid out in a really easy to understand manner. AllRecipes and Food.com are also good resources. Just a simple web search will turn up a wide variety of recipes for you to try. INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup of water
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 3 medium sweet onions, diced (rough)
• 3 plum tomatoes, rough chop
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 bell peppers, diced (rough) (we use a mix of whatever we have on hand - yellow, green, red)
• 1 teaspoon of chili powder (you can use less or a bit more according to your taste)
• 1 bouillion cube (we use either vegetable or chicken - if you want a truly vegetable stir fry - use vegetable)
• curry powder to taste (as curry is such a personal decision, we suggest starting with just 1 teaspoon and adding more to taste)
• salt (to taste)
• ground black pepper (again, to your taste)

Note: We tend to like things a bit spicy but not all do. So vary your spices with this recipe until you get it "just the way you like". INSTRUCTIONS

1. Fry your onions and peppers together in the olive oil. We use a wok but a large skillet/frying pan will work well too. It's done when the onion turns translucent (clear). Don't caramelize the onions.
2. Then add the carrots and water, all your seasonings (again - to taste), tomatoes.
3. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

This stir fry is terrific on it's own, as a side dish, or accompanied by some rice. Please experiment. We've given you just the rough idea of what we do. One of our relatives grates the carrot (although we prefer rough chunks of carrot). Another friend adds some chopped hot peppers or a diced green chili pepper. We sometimes bung in some mushrooms or other vegetables - whatever happens to be in the fridge and seems appropriate. Enjoy! And please let us know how you enjoy this recipe and any creative culinary modifications you make.

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food.

Black-eyed Peas are a big deal in West Africa! They show up in a wide variety of soups and stews. This particular recipe is very tasty and you can vary the vegetables to change it up a bit. You can make this recipe "thick or thin"! Add more vegetables and less liquid and it becomes more stew-like. This recipe is technically vegetarian, although we admit we often substitute chicken broth for the water. Which makes it decidedly NOT vegetarian. Up to you!

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We love sharing our family recipes with you but please remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish and other terrific African recipes. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes. We just came across a terrific culinary resource - afrolems.com - A food blog for Nigerian, African and Interational recipes. Visit them - they have a really nice selection of recipes and the instructions are laid out in a really easy to understand manner. Recipes Around the World has the closest recipe to the way we make this dish (adapted from a Moosewood Restaurant daily special). AllRecipes and Food.com are also good resources. Just a simple web search will turn up a wide variety of recipes for you to try. INGREDIENTS

• salt and ground black pepper (to your taste - we like rough ground black pepper)
• 1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro OR (as we don't like cilantro) you can substitute the same amount of broad leaf parseley
• 1 cup of dried black-eyed peas
• 2 cloves of peeled garlic (or the same amount of already chopped garlic in oil)
• 6 cups of water (or you can do what we do sometimes and substitute either all 6 cups with chicken or vegetable broth OR half broth and half water - 3 cups each)
• 3 cups of diced tomatoes in juice
• 2 cups of chopped sweet onion
• 1 cup of diced celery
• 2 cups of whatever greens you like. Collard greens, kale, chard or spinach are all good choices.
• Okra is optional but we like to use it. We put in about 1 to 1.5 cups of okra (sliced and either fresh or frozen)
• Some Cayenne Pepper. We leave the amount up to you! But, be careful. We advise starting with just a pinch
• 1 teaspoon of ground allspice (Some recipes call for more allspice but we prefer just a teaspoon)
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
• 1 Pepper. The choice is up to you. We've used green, orange, red and yellow bell peppers.
• 1 cup of frozen corn (Some recipes say this is optional but we like the pop of flavour AND colour)

Note: This recipe is very "elastic". You can play around with it, choosing different combos of vegetables and changing the liquid - water, chicken or vegetable broth are all good. Again, more vegetables and greens - it turns out like a hearty stew. Less - it is more like a soup. We tend to make it more "stew like". INSTRUCTIONS

1. Put the black-eyed peas, the garlic and 4 cups of either water or broth into a covered sauce pan and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer this mixture until the peas are tender. Should take around 45 - 50 minutes.
2. Saute the onions and celery. We use a bit of olive oil. Some recipes say just use a couple of tablespoons of water.
3. When the onions are translucent, add the spices and continue to simmer until the spices are really fragrant. Make sure to stir this quite a bit. Don't let it stick or burn.
4. Now, add the peppers and put a cover on the pan and let that cook for a few minutes (probably about 4 minutes). The peppers should be cooked but not "squishy".
5. Now add the corn and the other vegetables EXCEPT the greens with 2 cups of water or broth. (Whichever liquid you are using.)
6. Cover the pan again and bring up to a boil. Reduce the heat and add the greens. Simmer until the greens are just tender.
7. Now go back to your black-eyed peas. If you used garlic cloves, mash them up. If you used already chopped garlic it's already done for you!
8. Add your black-eyed peas mixture to the other pan (of broth, vegetables and greens). Stir in either the cilantro or parseley (whichever you are using).

Serve piping hot! We like to enjoy this with a nice bread or sometimes with home made biscuits. Enjoy! And please let us know how you enjoy this recipe and any creative culinary modifications you make.

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food.

If you like Polenta, you're going to just love Ugali! They are both made from cornmeal. Whether an accompaniment to a soup or stew or alongside meat, chicken or fish dishes, Ugali is a delight. And, it's remarkably simple to make. Basically just a combination of cornmeal and water, stirred until well thickened.

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We love sharing our family recipes with you but please remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish and other terrific African recipes. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes. We just came across a terrific culinary resource - afrolems.com - A food blog for Nigerian, African and Interational recipes. Visit them - they have a really nice selection of recipes and the instructions are laid out in a really easy to understand manner. AllRecipes and Food.com are also good resources. Just a simple web search will turn up a wide variety of recipes for you to try. INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups of finely ground cornmeal
• 8 cups of water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat water in a saucepan to boiling.
2. Pour the cornmeal into the boiling water very slowly. Doing it very slowly helps to avoid lumps.
3. Stir constantly. If any lumps form, mash them to break them up.
4. You are aiming for a consistency much like mashed potatoes. Add cornmeal in very small amounts if you need to thicken the mixture a bit.
5. Cook the Ugali for three or four minutes but make sure to constantly stir. Stirring is the magical secret to great Ugali.
6. When you've reached "mashed potato" consistency, remove from heat.
7. We like to add a little pat of butter on the top.
8. Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

See, we said it was easy. Just two ingredients and a lot of stirring! We use Ugali in a variety of ways. In the bottom of a bowl of piping hot stew (sort of like a dumpling). Alongside chicken, meat or fish dishes. We especially like a "comfort meal" of meatloaf with a side of buttery Ugali. Enjoy! And please let us know how you enjoy this recipe and any creative culinary modifications you make.

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food.

Often considered to be the national dish of Senegal - Thieboudienne - basically means fish and rice. Some other African countries refer to this dish as "riz au gras" or "Jollof Rice". You will see a wide variety of spellings of the name. Cee bu jen, theibou dienn, tie biou dian, etc. Classic recipes for Thieboudienne contain netetou (also sometimes called soumbala or sumbala). Many cooks substitute the more readily available South Asian Fish Sauce. How much to substitute is really a matter of taste. We use about a tablespoon but you may want to experiment to suit your own taste.

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Authentic recipes for Thieboudienne also use whole fish. At home, we make it with fish fillets. It's just easier! Not quite as authentic but, hey, it tastes just as good. We love sharing our family recipes with you but please remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish and other terrific African recipes. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes. We just came across a terrific culinary resource - afrolems.com - A food blog for Nigerian, African and International recipes. Visit them - they have a really nice selection of recipes and the instructions are laid out in a really easy to understand manner. AllRecipes and Food.com are also good resources. Just a simple web search will turn up a wide variety of recipes for you to try. INGREDIENTS

• 6 to 8 fish fillets. You can use a wide variety of fish. Basically any firm fleshed fish. We mostly use tilapia but sometimes we've used bass or grouper.
• 1 bunch of broad leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 medium sweet onion(we like it chopped rough)
• 4 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 2 shallots, minced quite fine
• 1 cup of vegetable oil (we use a canola/olive oil blend)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced fine
• 1 tablespoon South Asian Fish Sauce
• 2 small dried fish (if you can't find salty dried fish, just substitute another tablespoon of South Asian Fish sauce). Classic chefs would shudder but we've also used anchovy paste! You're just trying to get that savoury"umami" flavour.
• 2 cups of broth (we like to use vegetable broth)
• 4 hot peppers, small dice (any hot pepper will do depending on your love of "heat")
• 1 can of plum tomatoes (we use diced plum tomatoes)
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 lime or lemon (sliced up)
• 2 carrots, cut into chunks
• 6 pieces of okra
• 2 potatoes (you can use any potato but we particularly like sweet potato or a combination)
• 1 eggplant, cut into thick slices
• 1 small cabbage, cut into wedges
• 4 cups of jasmine rice
• 1 piece of cassava root, peeled and cut into bite size chunks
• salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mix the parsley, half of the minced garlic cloves, half of the diced hot peppers, half the broth and some salt.
2. If you are using whole fish, you will need to clean the fish, rinse it and pat it dry.
3. If using whole fish, make a couple of diagonal cuts in the fish and press the stuffing (the mixture you made in Step 1) into the slashes. We just spread the mixture on our fillets and roll them up loosely and fasten with a couple of toothpicks.
4. Heat up your vegetable oil in a frying pan (a fairly deep one). Fry your fish (or fish rolls) for about 6 to 8 minutes, flipping them halfway through so both sides (or outside) are seared.
5. Turn the heat down to just simmer and add the other half of the garlic and the onion and the remainder of the peppers. Mix well and saute for about 5 minutes.
6. Mix up the remaining vegetable broth, fish sauce (and dried fish, if using).
7. Put the mixture (Step 6) into your pan and mix it in well.
8. Now add the tomato paste and the plum tomatoes (we use diced tomatoes) along with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for about another 5 minutes and then add the bay leaves and a cup of water.
9. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
10. Now add all the remaining vegetables and simmer for about a half an hour. You want the vegetables to be cooked but still firm.
11. When the vegetables are cooked, remove them from the pan to a bowl and set aside.
12. Add the jasmine rice (you should rinse it first). Now add enough water to cover the rice. We think we add somewhere between 4 and 5 cups of water.
13. Cook uncovered for about 30 - 40 minutes. Make sure to stir so that rice doesn't stick to bottom of pan.
14. When the rice is cooked, put your vegetables back in the pan along with the fish and cook for about 5 minutes. Just until vegetables and fish are hot again.

Serve this with lemon or lime slices to squeeze over the top. As netetou and fish sauce are quite strong flavours, please experiment to satisfy your own taste. This is a delicious recipe and reheats well (if you have any leftovers!). Our recipe isn't totally authentic (we've sort of adapted it over the years). You can get a wide variety of recipes for Theboudienne online if you want to pursue a more traditional recipe. Enjoy! And please let us know how you enjoy this recipe and any creative culinary modifications you make.

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food.

While this recipe is often quoted as originating in Uganda, we've encountered all sorts of variations, all over the place! No matter where it comes from, it is a simple, delicious and very appetite-satisfying dish. Matoke is a reference to plantain (sometimes known as plantain bananas). This dish can be prepared with or without the meat and beef broth. It's equally tasty as a vegetarian dish.

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As with all our recipes, we often vary this dish. We've added carrots or sweet potatoes or yams, different types of peppers. Used vegetable broth instead of beef broth. Sometimes putting together a stew at our house involves tidying up the fridge. You know - "let's use this up" or "a bit of this and a bit of that". Experimentation with recipes is fun, in our opinion, and often creates a tasty result!

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When we think about it, the reason why this dish crops up all over Africa is likely because plantains are a staple crop in a large part of the continent. We love sharing our family recipes with you but please remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish and other terrific African recipes. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes. afrolems.com - A food blog for Nigerian, African and Interational recipes is a great source. Visit them - they have a really nice selection of recipes and the instructions are laid out in a really easy to understand manner. AllRecipes and Food.com are also good resources. Just a simple web search will turn up a wide variety of recipes for you to try. INGREDIENTS

• 10 to 12 plantains (the amount will vary according to the size of the plantain)
• Salt (to taste)
• 1 large sweet onion, rough chopped
• Coriander (we just use a touch - about a quarter teaspoon - if you really like coriander you can add more)
• A pinch of dried red pepper flakes
• 1 hot pepper, chopped (any kind or heat quotient you like!)
• the juice of one lemon
• Some canola oil (we use a canola/olive oil blend)
• tomatoes (you can use canned plum tomatoes (roughly break them up with your fingers) or 4 or 5 fresh tomatoes - chopped)
• 2 bell peppers - chopped (use any variety of bell pepper you like - we often use orange or yellow just because the colours are appetizing)
• 4 garlic cloves (mash the garlic)
• 1 pound of lean ground beef OR 1 pound of stewing beef (if you use stewing beef cut it up into manageable bite-size pieces)
• 1.5 cups of beef or vegetable broth

INSTRUCTIONS

• Peel the plantains and then cut them up into fairly large cubes. Sprinkle some lemon juice on them and put them to the side for now.
• In a large frying pan heat up about 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil and then fry the pepper, the onions, the hot pepper and the garlic. Just saute them until they are tender but not soft and mushy. You want them to have some substance. The onions should be translucent but not caramelized.
• Then add the meat (if you are using it). If using ground beef, chop it up in the pan with your spatula as you saute it. Keep sauteing and stirring the meat (ground or stewing beef) until it is done. When the meat is no longer pink, add the broth.
• Bring the stew to a boil and then reduce the heat to a slow simmer.
• Add the plantains and then cover your pot.
• Continue to simmer over low heat until the plantains are tender and the meat is thoroughly cooked. Stir often to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom!

Because we really like the zip of citrus flavour, we serve this with some sliced lemon to squeeze over the bowl. This stew should be served piping hot. We prefer to make Matoke with stewing beef but the ground beef version is very good as well. This stew pairs well with a variety of sides and breads. We often have it with a salad or coleslaw on the side. As for breads - whatever you enjoy! Just make sure you've got something to "sop up the bottom of the bowl" with. Our family recipe serves four people with a good sized bowl of stew. Food.com has a good basic recipe for Matoke and you can also check out the calories and dietary analysis there as well. Remember as well, that our recipe isn't totally authentic (we've sort of adapted it over the years). If you want a truly authentic recipe, just do an internet search and you'll turn up a wide variety to choose from. Enjoy! And please let us know how you enjoy this recipe and any creative culinary modifications you make.

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food.

Three ingredients? Under an hour? This recipe is just not to be believed! So simple. So delicious. You can use any chutney you like, but we prefer to get Mrs. Ball's Chutney when we can. Any store that sells African (or South African) groceries should have it. For those of you in the Toronto area (like we are) - we suggest a trip to The South African Store in downtown Toronto. You can also order online from them. They have quite a variety of Mrs. Ball's Chutney for sale.

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You can, of course, make your own chutney! Here's a link to a recipe we found at Foodgeeks for a chutney they claim is very similar to Mrs. Ball's. We haven't tried it yet. If you do, please let us know how you like it. We try to keep these three ingredients on hand pretty much all the time. Because this recipe is so easy and so quick, it makes for a great meal when you're all busy. It's also saved us when people have dropped in and we're "casting about" for something tasty to serve. Buy chicken thighs or boneless breasts ahead when they are on sale. Keep at least a couple of jars of chutney and packets of onion soup mix on hand and "Bob's Your Uncle", you've got the making of a great meal. Add some rice on the side and a little salad and you're good to go. There is a wide variety of chutney chicken recipes around - just do an internet search and you'll see! We have made this one for years, though and keep returning to it because it's both easy to make and easy to keep ingredients on hand for. Don't mess with perfection, right? {{cta('736cae00-0e96-4c5f-8845-c17812187f20','justifycenter')}} We love sharing our family recipes with you but please remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish and other terrific African recipes. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes. afrolems.com - A food blog for Nigerian, African and Interational recipes is a great source. Visit them - they have a really nice selection of recipes and the instructions are laid out in a really easy to understand manner. AllRecipes and Food.com are also good resources. Just a simple web search will turn up a wide variety of recipes for you to try. INGREDIENTS

• 12 to 15 chicken thighs (or you can use halved boneless breasts - we prefer thighs because we think they have more flavour)
• 1 jar (12 ounces) of chutney (we prefer hot chutney but use whatever flavour and heat quotient you like)
• 1 package of onion soup mix (dry)

INSTRUCTIONS

• Set your oven to preheat at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Combine the chutney and onion soup mix
• Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper (go easy on the salt - or omit entirely - as the onion soup mix is fairly salty)
• Put your chicken thighs in a baking dish (big enough that there's a bit of room around each thigh - don't crowd them)
• Pour the chutney and onion soup mixture over the thighs
• Bake for about an hour (start checking them at about 45 minutes - the chutney sauce should be a little bit brown and have gotten a little crunchy around the edges)
• You can do the "insert a knife and see if juices run clear test" but, honestly, as long as your oven is working properly, after 45 minutes to an hour, it's done!

There, we told you. Three ingredients and 1 hour! We have no idea who started making this in our family. It seems like it's been a "go to" recipe forever! This recipe makes about 6 to 7 good-sized servings. A little hint? We almost always make a double batch. Then we either have some leftovers or we freeze it for a "rainy day". For a family get-together, we made an entire "club pack" of chicken thighs with this recipe and not one scrap was left! Enjoy! And please let us know how you enjoy this recipe and any creative culinary modifications you make.

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food.

We don't know what others call these delicious little patties, but in our house, they're called "veggie cakes". They are vegetarian (maybe even vegan), so make a terrific meal if you're trying to eat less meat. About the consistency of a crab cake, they are very flavourful and relatively easy to make. We try to have several "meatless" meals per week so this really fits the bill! You have to make sort of a paste with the chickpea flour but it isn't at all difficult.

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These veggie cakes are terrific with a little chutney on the side. We usually serve with a small salad or (sometimes) rice. We love sharing our family recipes with you but please remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish and other terrific African recipes. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes. afrolems.com - A food blog for Nigerian, African and Interational recipes is a great source. Visit them - they have a really nice selection of recipes and the instructions are laid out in a really easy to understand manner. AllRecipes and Food.com are also good resources. Just a simple web search will turn up a wide variety of recipes for you to try. INGREDIENTS

• 2.5 to 3 cups of roasted vegetables, roughly chopped. Pretty much anything you want to roast (and enjoy). Try squash or pumpkin, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes (cut in half), green onion, cauliflower, carrots. Don't mince the vegetables. You want some nice chunks of veggies in your "cakes".
• Salt and pepper to taste (we use about a half teaspoon of salt and about the same of black pepper)
• 3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast (we get ours at the "Bulk Barn" or most health food stores carry it as well).
• 1.75 cups of vegetable stock
• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of chickpea flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric (cumin works well too)

INSTRUCTIONS

• Set your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Now make a paste by mixing the chickpea flour with one cup of water. It should be quite gooey and thick.
• Put all the rest of the ingredients (except the roasted vegetables) into a large saucepan and bring it to a boil.
• Then stair the chickpea flour paste into the mixture in your saucepan and stir it in well. No lumps, please!
• Turn the heat down to just a nice simmer and continue to stir until the mixture thickens up.
• Now turn your roasted chopped vegetables into the thickened mixture.
• Have a pie tin or cake tin, oiled (we use canola spray) at hand.
• Turn your thickened mixture into the pie or cake tin and spread out evenly.
• Now bake it in the oven for around 30-35 minutes.

We find that sometimes our mixture might be a tiny bit too wet or, conversely, a bit dry. Just add a tiny bit of flour if too wet, or a tiny bit more vegetable stock or water if it is too dry. Let it sit for a good ten minutes before turning it out of the pie plate/cake tin. If you do it right away, it tends to break up. Cut into pie-shaped wedges to serve. If you are going to a potluck, this is a great thing to take. Travels well and is easily reheated. Cover it loosely with foil if you reheat or it will dry out. The four of us can eat the entire pie so if there are more than 4 for dinner - make two! Enjoy! And please let us know how you enjoy this recipe and any creative culinary modifications you make.

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food.

We grew up eating these bran rusks!

They are delicious no matter what age you are. A lovely crunchy treat to enjoy with a good cup of coffee or tea. We call them our version of biscotti.

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Every one of us makes them slightly differently. We have experimented with the dried fruit ingredients. We've tried dried cranberries, blueberries, dried mixed fruit (chopped up), a variety of different types of raisins, dried dates . . . just use your creative culinary imagination! You can omit the dried fruit entirely, but we think they are better with the addition of fruit. We love sharing our family recipes with you but please remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish and other terrific African recipes. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes. afrolems.com - A food blog for Nigerian, African and Interational recipes is a great source. Visit them - they have a really nice selection of recipes and the instructions are laid out in a really easy to understand manner. AllRecipes and Food.com are also good resources. Just a simple web search will turn up a wide variety of recipes for you to try. INGREDIENTS

• 600 grams sugar
• 3 eggs (we recommend extra large)
• 1 kg of self-raising flour
• 500 grams of butter
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1-1/3 cups of milk (we use 2%)
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 200 grams bran flakes
• Raisins, cranberries, dried blueberries, etc. Use your judgement. We put in about a half cup.

INSTRUCTIONS

• Set the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Grease two loaf tins. We use spray canola oil. There are butter flavour sprays as well if you prefer.
• Now cream the butter and sugar.
• Once you've creamed the butter and sugar, you can add the eggs. Beat this mixture well after adding eggs. We add the eggs one at a time and beat each one into the mixture.
• Add your dry ingredients but not the bran or the dried fruit yet.
• Mix your dry and wet ingredients. Then add the bran and then the dried fruit. We add both gradually so they get incorporated evenly into the batter.
• Divide your batter in half and put each half into a greased loaf tin.
• Bake the loaves for about 45 to 50 minutes. Make sure to test them in the centre to make sure they are completely "baked through". Ours are usually done at just over 45 minutes.
• It is really important to let the loaves cool completely before sliding into rusks.
• Once completely cool, cut the loaves into about 1/2 inch slices.
• Set your oven to 100 degrees Fahrenheit
• Place the slices on parchment paper on a baking tray
• Dry the rusks in the oven. We find it takes about 2.5 to 3 hours. Check frequently as you don't want them to burn up. You just want to dry them out.

In the end, you will end up with a tasty, crispy treat. They keep well in a biscuit tin and we even layer them into a plastic container (with a good seal), between parchment paper and freeze some "for a rainy day". They aren't quite as good once frozen but as long as you allow them to naturally come to room temperature, they are still pretty good. A trick we use is to put a piece of paper towel at the bottom (under a layer of parchment paper, and another piece at the top, over a piece of parchment paper. This helps to "wick" any moisture away from the rusks. We've related how we make our rusks but we'll also share a terrific recipe we came across for a similar rusk. This recipe is "truly terrific" and we highly recommend it. They are called Ma's Buttermilk Rusks. This is a recipe you'll want to make over and over. Ours are always a little different each time we make them, which we think adds to the delight!

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Enjoy your Bran Rusks with an authentic, single origin coffee! Our Taste of Africa coffees are simply superb.

Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food.

This curry is just the best for hot summer weather!

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Yum! Yum! Yum! This amazing curry dish is just the very best for hot summer weather. Technically both vegan and gluten free, this fresh tasting curry is a snap to make.

We also make this in a non-vegan version by throwing in whatever we've got left over. Sometimes a little chicken. Sometimes a handful of shrimp. You get the idea. Regardless of the additions you make, this basic recipe is wonderful as is and is also a great "base" for any creative experimentation you want to make. As one of our Dad's used to say, it's "clean out the fridge time - never the same twice"!

We love sharing our family recipes with you but please remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish and other terrific African recipes. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes. afrolems.com - A food blog for Nigerian, African and Interational recipes is a great source. Visit them - they have a really nice selection of recipes and the instructions are laid out in a really easy to understand manner. AllRecipes and Food.com are also good resources. Just a simple web search will turn up a wide variety of recipes for you to try. INGREDIENTS

• Approximately 2 cups of bell peppers. We like to mix it up and have orange, yellow and red. So colourful!
• 1 Cup of cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in halves
• 1 cup of spinach (washed well)
• 1.5 cups of canned chickpeas
• 1/4 teaspoon of paprika. We use smoked paprika.
• 1 sweet white onion diced up
• sea salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 cloves of garlic. You can dice the garlic. We like to smash ours and then break it up into small pieces. We think it releases more flavour that way.
• 3 or 4 tablespoons of olive oil (We use a canola and olive oil mix)
• 2.5 tablespoons of cornstarch (Sometimes it takes a bit more. Just add a tiny bit more if your curry isn't thick enough)
• 4 tablespoons of nutritional yeast (Easily available at any "Bulk Barn" or similar grocery)
• 1.5 cups of coconut milk

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and then bake the peppers until they are charred. This is important as it gives your curry a lovely flavour. Once cooled, remove the skin and the seeds and then put to the side.
• Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until nice and golden. Salt and pepper to taste. Set this aside as well.
• In a food processor, mix your cooled peppers, your onion and garlic mixture, the coconut milk as well as the nutritional yeast, the cornstarch and the paprika until well mixed. At this point, you should give it a taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.
• Now put your mixture back into an oven proof skillet and add the chickpeas, the spinach and the tomatoes. Fold this mixture together well. Bake at 400 degrees for around 25 minutes or so.

We like our curry with just plain rice but it is good with all sorts of things. Sometimes if the weather is really hot and humid, we just have it with some flatbread (like naan, for example).

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Getting to know Africa includes experiencing the vastly different - and yummy - expressions of each culture through food.

Gages is a deceptively simple vegetable dish that originates in Sierra Leone. We say "deceptively simple" because the taste is extraordinary! We love sharing our family recipes with you but please remember you can search online and find lots of variations on this dish and other terrific African recipes. An online recipe site we use over and over again is The Congo Cookbook. My East Africa Journal is also a great source for recipes. We just came across a terrific culinary resource - African Cuisine Made Easy. AllRecipes and Food.com are also good resources. This easy to prepare recipe combines all sorts of lovely fall colours together with a few unexpected ingredients! Pairs well with all sorts of things - chicken, beef or seafood or enjoy it as a stand alone vegetarian meal.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1/4 cup of unsalted, dry roasted peanuts
• 1/4 cup of unsweetened flaked coconut
• 1 eggplant, peeled and sliced thin
• 1 red chili pepper, chopped and remove seeds
• 4 nice ripe tomatoes (we use any tomato we happen to have but plum tomatoes are our favourite)
• 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil (we actually use a blend of canola and olive oil)
• 1/4 cup of vinegar (we use red cider vinegar but we have used red wine vinegar as well)
• 1 large red onion (we rough chop the onion)

Instructions

1. Melt your butter in a large frying pan (we use our wok).
2. Fry the eggplant slices until they are slightly browned (or more if you like a little char).
3. Remove from the heat and set to cool to almost room temperature.
4. Now combine everything in a big bowl, mixing the vinegar and oil together and pouring it over all other ingredients.
5. Cover your bowl with saran wrap and place in fridge for several hours. We like to make this the night before and refrigerate overnight.
6. Just before serving, sprinkle the coconut and peanuts over the top and toss.

This recipe is a snap to make and serves about six people as a side. If using it as a main dish, it serves about 4. A little tip? If you have any leftover, add them to sandwiches. Delicious! Enjoy! And please let us know how you enjoy this recipe and any creative culinary modifications you make. Vegetable Photo Source: Wikipedia (Creative Commons - Labeled for Reuse).