3 cups self-rising flour ( or 3 cups all purpose or whole wheat + 1 tbsp baking powder + 3/4 tsp salt )

3 tbsp sugar

1 12oz bottle beer of choice, I used guinness

1 stick (8 tbsp) of butter, melted and divided – trying to be healthy?….you can use 1/2 stick of butter (4tbsp) instead.

*if you want to dress this bread up a bit, try some herbs like rosemary and thyme or some crumbled bacon and 1/2 cup or so of cheese. You could also add a little heat to it with sriracha or some jalapeno peppers…..the options are endless and it’s so easy. Have fun and enjoy!

preheat oven to 350. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour and sugar. Add the beer. Mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan. Pour in half of the melted butter. Spoon the batter into the pan. Pour the remaining butter over the batter. Bake for 60 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Enjoy!

*note: This tastes amazing with a good slather of honey or served alongside your favourite soup or stew.

Recipe adapted from smitten kitchen

This is so yummy, however I must warn that it is definitely not a quick meal to prepare. To save time you could prep your greens and do your measuring, chopping and slicing the day before; that way the following day all you will have to do is cook your roux, assemble and bake!

1/2 stick butter

1 large cooking onion, diced

2 large bunches of red chard, stemmed and chopped

2 cups organic 2% or whole milk, 

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp flour

2 small zucchini, sliced into 1/8 inch thick rounds

4 medium russet potatoes, sliced into 1/8 inch thick rounds

1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced

1 tbsp fresh thyme, minced

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/4 cup grated cheese of choice, I used a mix of cheddar,  mozzarella and parmesan

Onions and Chard:

in a large pan cook onions with 2 tbsp of butter over medium-low heat until softened (making sure to stir often) about 5 minutes. Turn heat to medium-high and add the rainbow chard. Stir until the chard is wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a collander and using a dish towel press down on the chard to remove andy excess liquid.

Sauce:

In a small saucepan combine the milk and garlic; bring mixture to a simmer to keep it warm. In a medium saucepan melt 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Continue cooking the roux by whisking for one minute then while you continue to whisk slowly add the warm milk and garlic and bring to a boil. Whisk for about 1 minute more then season with salt and pepper. set aside.

Assemble:

Preheat the oven to 400. grease a 9×13 baking dish. Spread out half of the potatoes and half of the zucchini. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, 1/4 of the herbs and 1/4 cup of cheese. Spread half of your chard over the cheese, then sprinkle with salt and pepper, 1/4 of the herbs and a 1/4 cup of the cheese. Pour half of the roux over these layers then continue with the remaining potatoe and zucchini, salt and pepper, 1/4 of the herbs and 1/4 cup of cheese. Now top with the last of the chard. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the remaining sauce over the gratin, making sure it is as evenly distributed as possible. Finally top it off with the last of the cheese.

Bake for 40 minutes to 1hr or until golden and bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes and serve!

SQUASH:

1 spaghetti squash

Preheat oven to 375. Prick the spaghetti squash all over with a fork or knife making little holes/slits to allow for the steam to escape while it bakes (this will prevent a not so fun, super messy, squash explosion). Bake in a shallow baking sheet for 1 hour. Once the squash has cooled enough to handle, cut it length wise with a serrated knife. Remove the seeds and fibrous strings from the centre of the squash using a spoon. Once you have removed all the seeds, gently scrape the squash with a fork shredding the pulp into nice spaghetti looking strands. Set aside.

While the squash bakes make the sauce.

SAUCE:

- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups crimini mushrooms, sliced
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 2 large cloves of garlic

- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp chopped rosemary
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup of organic vegetable broth

- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 280z can organic crushed tomatoes, with their juice
- chunk of good parmesan cheese, for grating

Warm the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, garlic, thyme, bay leaves and rosemarry. Cook over med-high heat for about 5 minutes, stir often. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 more minutes. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. Add 1/2 cup vegetable broth and cook until completely reduced, making sure to scrape the pan lifting any bits that may begin to stick. When the pan is dry mash the tomato paste into the mushroom, onion mixture. Add the canned tomatoes and the remaining 1/2 cup of vegetable broth. Turn heat to medium low and simmer for 30 or so minutes.

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS FOR THE LASAGNA:

- ricotta cheese
- bag of shredded cheddar and mozzarella or cheese of choice

 

Spread a generous amount of sauce covering the bottom of your roasting dish. Cover with a layer of spaghetti squash followed by another layer of sauce. Spread a layer of ricotta and cover with a layer of shredded cheese. Repeat the process one more time. Top it off with a layer of grated parm. Transfer to the middle rack of the oven and bake for 18-22 minutes. Turn the oven to broil and bake for 3 minutes or until the top begins to brown and bubble. Remove from oven, let sit for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!

This was the perfect thing to feed my exhausted husband after he finished a long day of portaging a canoe all over the city for Amici’s Canoeheads For Kids event.

Recipe adapted from Thug kitchen

• 3 cups cooked chickpeas
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 crown broccoli, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 large lime

Spice blend:

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp chipotle chili powder
• 1 1/2  tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425. Chop the onion, red pepper and broccoli making sure they are all just a bit larger than the chickpeas. Mince the garlic and set aside. Toss all the veg in a large bowl along with the cooked chickpeas. Add the oil and soy sauce; now mix in the spices making sure everything gets coated evenly.

Place mixture on a large baking sheet ( or two ) and bake for 20 min. Remove from oven; flip the mixture and add the garlic and bake for another 15 min. At this point or maybe before this point you will probably think the mixture is burning and if you are like me you may be freaking the fuck out thinking the whole meal is going to be ruined and then you wont have anything to eat for dinner and you will have wasted all this food not to mention your time…if you are like me you may even take it out of the oven early and hum and haw over whether or not you should put it back and let it cook for the correct amount of time. PUT IT BACK – it will be fine, as Thug Kitchen says “it’s supposed to look that way”. Allow the mixture to finish baking; now take it out of the oven and squeeze the lime juice over mixture. Make your burrito. I used a little yogurt, some salsa, avocado, shredded carrots and cucumber. Enjoy.