Mushroom Burgers

Mushroom Burgers

2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 cloves garlic
Portobello mushrooms (2-4)

1. Mince the cloves of garlic. Add the garlic and pepper to the oil.

2. Remove the stems of the mushrooms and brush the oil mixture lightly onto both sides of the mushroom.

3. Cook on the grill for about 10 minutes (more if they are thicker or you are cooking a lot at once).

4. Put on a bun with your favourite burger toppings and serve with homemade fries :)

Chickpea Quinoa Curry

Chickpea Quinoa Curry

1/2 onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic
1 can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
1 can diced tomatoes (drained)
1 1/3 cup cooked quinoa
2 1/2 tsp curry powder
chili flakes to taste

1. On medium heat cook the onions and garlic until the onion starts to become clear.

2. Add the tomatoes and chickpeas and cook for a couple of minutes.

3. Add the quinoa, curry and chili and heat until warm.

Salsa

Salsa

8 tomatoes
1/2 onion
2 jalapenos
2 cloves of garlic
juice of 1/2 lime
salt
pepper

1. Cut the tomatoes around the middle (not top to bottom) and remove all of the seeds.

2. Chop the tomatoes until the are as coarse or as fine as you would like your salsa.

3. Finely chop the garlic, onion and jalapenos.

4. Mix everything together. Add the lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.

Beer Buns

Beer Buns

3 cups flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup butter/margarine
1 1/2 cup beer (some local is nice)

15-20 minutes @ 400

1. Mix together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.

2. Add the butter to the dough and cut it into the dry mixture until it is in fine pieces.

3. Gradually pour the beer into the mix while stirring. I used Kelowna Pilsner.

4. Knead the dough a bit on a floured surface until it is nice and smooth. You can add extra flour when kneading it if it is really sticky.

5. Separate the dough into 6 pieces and roll them into little balls. Place the balls on a baking tray and make cross cuts on top.

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400. If you like you can brush some melted butter on top once the buns are baked and then stick them in the oven for another 2 minutes.

Apple Chips

Apple Chips

3 apples
1/4 cup (slightly less) sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or as much as you like)
3 cup water
1 tbsp lime or lemon juice

2 hours @ 225

1. Cut up apples in 1/8" slices. Put the cut slices into the bowl of water and lime juice if you want to keep them from getting brown while you cut the rest of the slices.

 2. Dry off the soaked slices before seasoning them.

3. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle the mixture onto both sides of the apple slices.

4. Place a cooling rack on a baking sheet and lay the apple slices on top of the cooling rack. (you can also use parchment paper on the baking sheet instead of a cooling rack)
5. Bake for about 2 hours at 225, or until the slices have gotten pretty crispy. They will harden a bit more once they have cooled. Try not to eat them all at once.

Pretzels

Pretzels

2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
2 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water
2 3/4 cup flour
2 tbsp oil
1 1/2 tsp salt

6 tbsp baking soda
6 cups water
coarse salt

12 minutes @ 425

1. Activate yeast in the warm water with 1 tsp of sugar. Let the yeast sit for about 15 minutes to activate.

2. Make a well in the flour and add the rest of the sugar, the regular salt, the oil and the yeast to the centre of the well.

 3. Stir the mixture around until it the dough comes together. If it seems a bit dry add a bit more water, a tsp at a time.

 4. Knead the dough for about five minutes and then place it in an oiled bowl, making sure to roll the dough ball around to coat all sides.

5. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let sit for about an hour until it has about doubled in size.

6. When the dough has finished rising, punch and knead it a bit more. Then separate it evenly into 12 ball of dough.

7. Take each ball and roll it out with your hands to around a foot and a half in length (with the middle slightly thicker than the ends). Twist it into pretzel shape.

8. Boil the baking soda and water mixture and drop each pretzel into it for 10 seconds in each side. Take the pretzel out and let dry a bit and add a bit of coarse salt on top.

 9. Bake for 12 minutes at 425.

10. Enjoy with a beer :)

Focaccia

Focaccia

2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup warm water
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt

olive oil
salt
pepper
onion powder
rosemary (about 2 1/2 tbsp)
garlic (4-5 cloves)

20 minutes @ 425

1. Add yeast sugar and water together in small bowl. Wait about 10 minutes for the yeast to activate.

 2. Once yeast is activated put it in a large bowl with the flour and salt. Mix around, gradually adding a little bit more water at a time until the dough is coming together. Knead the dough for 2 minutes on a lightly floured surface.

3. Coat a large bowl with olive oil and put the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let sit for 45 minutes.

 4. When the dough has finished  rising, punch and knead it on the counter a bit more.
5. Spread out the dough on a slightly oiled pan. Make dimples in it with your fingers.

 6. Coat lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with onion powder, salt, pepper, finely chopped garlic and coarsely chopped rosemary.

 7. Bake for 20 minutes at 425.