Favourites, Breakfast
JP Siou
Minty Chia and Berries Yogurt Bowl

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.

Minty Chia and Berries Yogurt Bowl
Mains, Favourites
JP Siou
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.

Tex-Mex Shredded Beef and Master Stock
Mains, Favourites
JP Siou
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.

Coach JP's Famous Chili
Mains, Favourites
JP Siou
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!

Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
Sourdough Breads, Favourites
JP Siou
Sourdough Ligurian-Style Focaccia

Inspired by the foccaccia made in Liguria by Samin Nosrat in Netflix’s “Salt Fat Acid Heat” (based on Nosrat’s book by the same name), this version is made using my trusty sourdough starter rather than packaged yeast.

Sourdough Ligurian-Style Focaccia

Sourdough

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Sourdough Discard Biscuits

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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.

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Sourdough Starter

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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.