We have recently begun a new geography study with the book Galloping the Globe. It's a great book, by the way, I think we're going to have tons of fun learning with it. It's categorized by continents and we have started in North America. Since we spent the entire fall on America, we have begun this study in Canada. So for the past week and a half we've been learning all sorts of fun facts about our neighbors to the North.Today we hit the library to look up some more books on Canada, worked a puzzle of Canada and made a delicious Canadian treat to eat. I was blessed to have the most awesome roommates in college~two of which were Canadians. So I've been schooled on lots of things Canadian:)
One of my former roomies shared this favorite recipe with me after I fell *in love* with it on one of my trips to visit her. You should definitely try them~they're super easy, but look complicated, and taste divine!! I even found some fun, educational trivia about them here.Nanaimo Bars
(from Karlene)
Bottom Layer:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
5 Tbls. cocoa
1 egg, beaten
1-3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup fine or med. coconut
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
(I don't like coconut or nuts so I left these out)
~Melt first 3 ingredients in the top of a double boiler, whisking to blend well. Add beaten egg, stirring to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, coconut and nuts. Press firmly into an ungreased 9x9" pan. (side note: I only had enough graham crackers for half of what it called for, so I used crushed ginger snaps for the remaining half--yummy!)
*****
Second Layer:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 Tbls. milk
2 Tbls. Vanilla Custard Powder
(vanilla pudding mix is a good substitute)
2 cups powdered sugar
~Cream butter, milk, custard powder and powdered sugar together well. Beat until light and fluffy. Spread over bottom layer.
*****
Top Layer:
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
OR
4 semi-sweet squares
2 Tbls. butter
~Melt chips and butter over low heat (or in microwave); blending well until smooth. Cool. While still runny, spread over the second layer. Chill in fridge. Cut into squares and enjoy!
*This also freezes well.
(from Karlene)
Bottom Layer:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
5 Tbls. cocoa
1 egg, beaten
1-3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup fine or med. coconut
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
(I don't like coconut or nuts so I left these out)
~Melt first 3 ingredients in the top of a double boiler, whisking to blend well. Add beaten egg, stirring to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, coconut and nuts. Press firmly into an ungreased 9x9" pan. (side note: I only had enough graham crackers for half of what it called for, so I used crushed ginger snaps for the remaining half--yummy!)
*****
Second Layer:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 Tbls. milk
2 Tbls. Vanilla Custard Powder
(vanilla pudding mix is a good substitute)
2 cups powdered sugar
~Cream butter, milk, custard powder and powdered sugar together well. Beat until light and fluffy. Spread over bottom layer.
*****
Top Layer:
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
OR
4 semi-sweet squares
2 Tbls. butter
~Melt chips and butter over low heat (or in microwave); blending well until smooth. Cool. While still runny, spread over the second layer. Chill in fridge. Cut into squares and enjoy!
*This also freezes well.
