BBQ Chicken, Plaintain, Rice and Black Beans

It is Raul's birthday so Drew offers to cook whatever Raul would like. What Raul would like most is to cook some of his favourites himself. Drew pretends to pout but is secretly pleased. Breakfast is waffles with butter curls and real maple syrup. Lunch is burgers and, Drew's contribution, Drumstick ice cream treats of the plain vanilla variety because vanilla is Raul's favourite ice cream flavour. Dinner is more elaborate.

Raul skins and debones chicken thighs before rubbing them with Greek oregano, crushed red pepper and a dash from a birthday gift to himself of a giant jar - 650 grams for $2.29 at the Danforth Variety & Fruit Market - of Cool Runnings Plus Granulated Garlic Powder. He presses the thighs flat and sets them aside to marinate.

He chops four green onions (saving the tops for garnish), a third of a bell pepper and two cloves of garlic that are then softened at a low heat for five minutes. He then adds a can of black beans (drained), a dash of salt and cumin, a juiced lime and half-cup of water. The mixture is covered and left to simmer.

Plantain strips are fried and basmati rice bubbles in the rice cooker. When all is set to go the chicken thighs go on the grill and all is plated with chopped basil and the green onion tops as a garnish on the rice.

The chicken is spicy, the beans are tart, the plantain is sweet and the rice allows everything to blend. "Every bite is different," enthuses Raul. "A perfect birthday meal."