Moist Banana Bread

I love banana bread. Whenever I chance to have over ripe bananas then, we all know to expect some banana bread in the kitchen by lunch time. So, since I love it so much, you can imagine that I've tried many recipes. This one however was a winner, which I found on allrecipes. It was an old 4-H recipe and me being an old 4-H member jumped on it. I did however make some of my own changes and adjust it to the preference of my family. But beware, this one tends to be a bit sweet because of the raisins, you can omit them or reduce sugar if you like. So here we go.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1 egg
2 to 3 over ripe mashed bananas (or enough for 1 cup)
1/2 cup raisins/ nuts (optional)
5 tbsp milk

Directions:

• In a small bowl, sift all dry ingredients together. (Flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg)
• In a large bowl, cream margarine and sugar.
• Add lightly beaten egg and mashed bananas to creamed mixture.
• Slowly add sifted ingredients until combined
• Stir in milk and raisins
• Pour into greased and floured loaf pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius) for about 50 minutes or until top is brown and cracking.
• Remove from oven and loosely cover with foil for about 15 minutes (a moisture-sealing trick I learned)

Enjoy! 

My Curry Chicken

This is one of my favorite dishes ever!! I just can't get enough, more so if it is extra spicy. Ooh la laa. So this recipe is a mixture of mine and my mom's and we both like it extra spicy so if you are not a spicy fan, you can tone it down to your liking. Where I'm from in Jamaica, we like to season and marinate our meats before cooking, but this is completely up to the cook, you can heat oil, saute onion and garlic then add everything else if you want to. It's your kitchen, do what makes you happy. Okay, here we go.

2 lbs of cubed chicken (boneless or bone in)
1 large diced onion
1 stalk chopped scallion or green onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 large country pepper diced (or jalapeño or chile or any available)
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt (optional)
1 tsp dried or fresh thyme
2 tbsp curry powder
a dash of cayenne pepper
1 large cubed potato
1 cup coconut milk
2 tbsp olive oil

In a large bowl combine meat and all other ingredients except for the potatoes, coconut milk and oil. Cover and marinate overnight or up to an hour in the refrigerator.
Heat olive oil in a skillet. Saute meat, stirring occasionally for about 2 minutes. Add coconut milk and potatoes then simmer for up to 30 minutes (boneless) or up to 35 minutes (bone in) or until juices run clear.
Serve with rice (white or brown) or any side dish of your preference. Enjoy!