This is one of my go-to breakfast options. While it does require a tiny bit of forethought to soak the chia seeds a night ahead, it’s dead simple and easy to portion out ahead of time.
Tex-Mex Shredded Beef and Master Stock
I’ve had a few requests for this recipe when clients have come into the house and smelled it cooking, so here it is!
The beef is poached in a flavourful stock until fork-tender, and then shredded for use in whatever dish you like - tacos or taco salad, burritos, nachos…it works well for all of them. It’s really simple to prepare, and can be ready in about an hour. The secret to the outstanding flavour is to make it repeatedly using the same master stock.
Coach JP's Famous Chili
Originally published in 2013 (the first recipe I published!) and last updated in September 2021, this recipe was overdue for another update based on some more recent tweaks.
I use a slightly unusual combination of spices and herbs in my recipe that gives the chili a real depth and complexity of flavour that takes it beyond any store bought chili I've ever had. Chili purists will balk at the inclusion of beans, and while this recipe *could* be made bean-free, it is intended to be a complete meal in a bowl, so a starchy carb element is a key component.
This is real, whole food with lots of protein, veggies and high-fibre starchy carbs, so it doesn’t really need any “pseudo-healthy” window dressing!
With the relatively high proportion of starchy carbs, this is best used as a post-workout meal, but if your carb intake is reasonable otherwise, go ahead and have this whenever. It can also be made ahead and the excess portions frozen for later use with good results.
Sourdough Discard Biscuits
WOW - these were good! Best biscuits I’ve ever made, uses up some sourdough starter discard, and super easy as well.
Be warned, though - these are delicious for a once-in-a-while treat, but they have a LOT of butter in them, so shouldn’t be a regular feature. You will want them to be though…LOL!
This recipe is adapted from this one from King Arthur Baking Company, but modified to be proportional to the amount of discard sourdough starter you have on hand, and with some additional notes on the method I used.
Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
This is one of the most popular meals I make for larger family gatherings or social events, and is inspired by my Italian-Quebecois stepmother’s legendary pasta feasts.
The ingredients are relatively simple and inexpensive, and the process is pretty easy as well…or at least not very technical - there is a bit of work involved!
This makes a LOT of food (25-30 meatballs), so definitely share it with friends and family!
Sourdough Ligurian-Style Focaccia
Tortilla Soup
Sourdough Sandwich Buns
Sourdough Starter
After watching the Netflix 4-part series "Cooked", based on the book by Michael Pollan of the same name, I got the itch to try making long-fermented sourdough bread to provide my girls with a healthier option for their school sandwiches (here's a good article that lays out the basics of why long-fermented sourdough is healthier, and here's another talking a bit about artisan breads, bakeries and sourdough benefits as well). The only ingredients in the bread I make now are water, flour, and salt.
Anyway, long story short, after playing around with a couple of different sets of instructions on how to get your own starter going, I settled on this method for starting and maintaining the starter (also known as "levain"), and have successfully done this for a couple of years now.
Keema (Indian Spiced Ground Meat)
Hearty Braised Greens
Chickpea Hummus
Here's a recipe and instructional video for one of my favourite snacks, homemade chickpea hummus. From start to finish, it takes about five minutes to make. I absolutely love this with sugar snap peas for dipping, and it's got some high-fibre, slow-digesting carbohydrate, healthy fats and a little bit of protein to keep you satisfied.
You could cut the fat and calorie content a bit if you want by substituting water for half of the olive oil, and you could also substitute some sesame oil or sesame seeds for the tahini. This is a traditional lemon and garlic flavoured hummus, but you can play around with adding some roasted bell peppers, roasted garlic, etc. for variety - experiment away!
Ingredients:
- 1x 398ml can of chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed well
- 1 tsp of sesame tahini (you can substitute sesame oil, sesame seeds, or just omit if you want)
- Juice of 1 whole lemon
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 - 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
- Salt/pepper to taste
Preparation:
- Put everything except the olive oil in a food processor with the standard blade
- Process on high, drizzling in the olive oil until the desired consistency is achieved.
Total calories are somewhere between 500 and 600 calories for the entire recipe, depending on how much olive oil you use. For me, this makes 3 servings, with each serving having about 7g protein.
