Whole Wheat Zucchini, Rhubarb and Ginger Bread Recipe
(makes 2 loaves or 24 muffins)

2 1/4 cups zucchini, grated
3 eggs
1/2 cup oil
a scant cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups rhubarb and ginger compote
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoons salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Prep zucchini by grating it on the thickest setting on a cheese grater. Set aside. In a mixing bowl beat eggs until light and foamy. Add oil, sugar and vanilla and beat to combine. Stir in zucchini and rhubarb and ginger compote. In a separate bowl stir together dry ingredients. Stir dry into wet gently don’t over mix.

Spray two loaf pans with cooking spray or rub with oil. (If you would prefer to make muffins line your muffin tins with papers.) I made one loaf and a dozen muffins with this recipe. Divide batter between loaf pans or into muffin cups. Bake loafs for approximately one hour or muffins for 25 minutes. Until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

This freezes well, wrap in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and make sure it is completely cool before freezing.

Rosemary and Pepper Soda Bread
(makes 2 small loaves)
Adapted from Epicurious

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup oats
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon black pepper + topping
1/4 cup butter
1 3/4 cups buttermilk (I used milk + 3 teaspoons vinegar for 5 minutes at room temp)

Preheat oven to 375F. Combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, oats, rosemary, baking powder, baking soda & pepper) in a bowl and whisk together. In a large saucepan melt butter on medium heat, stir regularly until butter is browned. Stir into dry mixture along with buttermilk.

Turn out onto a well floured surface. Divide dough in half and form into balls. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Great broken apart and dipped in stew.

Stout Braised Short Ribs
(serves 2-4)

Based on this recipe from epicurious.

4 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1/2 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
~1.3 kg short ribs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes, (about 8 roma tomatoes)
1 bottle dark beer (1 1/2 cups)
1 cup chicken stock

Combine sugar, paprika, curry, cumin, pepper, salt, and dry mustard. Trim short ribs of excess fat or silver skin. Cover with spice rub and massage into meat. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat oven to 375F. In a large dutch oven over medium high heat add olive oil until hot then brown the ribs in batch on all sides but the bone side. Remove to a plate and add onion and carrot. Cook for 3 minutes over medium heat, stirring regularly. Add garlic and tomatoes and cook for another minute. Add beer and chicken stock and bring to a simmer, scraping up the bottom of the pot to get all the good rib flavour. Put ribs back into the pot, cover and put in the oven. Bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

You can serve immediately, but it is even better the next day, or in a few hours. Separate the meat from the sauce and put the sauce into a tall container, when the fat has pooled at the top remove from surface, reheat and serve over polenta.

This is another recipe which uses, as it’s base, the Olive Oil Dough from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

Miniature Grilled Tomato & Oregano Fougasses
(makes ~

You can use the base recipe from here, this makes a double recipe. I substitute 2 1/2 of the cups of regular flour with 2 cups of whole wheat bread flour. You will also need extra olive oil when grilling.

Filling:
2 tablespoons, minced fresh oregano
1 shallot, minced – about 2 tablespoons
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, diced small
zest of 1 lemon + 1/2 the juice
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil

1. Follow the recipe to make and prep the dough. When you are ready to make the bread remove dough from the fridge and let come to room temperature, about an hour.
2. Combine all filling ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
3. Divide the dough into 8 small balls. Form them one at a time, leave the rest covered.
4. On a well floured surface press and stretch out the dough until it is flat and about 1/2 ” thick. Sprinkle some of the filling on top of the dough. You want it evenly distributed across the top but leaving a border near the edge. You want about a tablespoon of filling per 3 square inches.
5. Now roll it up like a jelly roll and pinch the ends. Gently press back down into a flat rectangle. Some tomatoes and filling may pop through, that’s okay. Use more flour if you find this too sticky. Using a knife make a few slits in the dough and gently pull apart with your fingers to form holes in the dough. Place on a sheet of parchment while you repeat with the rest.
6. Get your barbecue nice and hot. Turn one side all the way down. Grease the grill to help prevent sticking and place the mini fougasses on the cool side of the grill. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Meanwhile grab a brush and put some olive oil in a bowl. Turn the breads and brush with oil. Cook for approximately another 5 minutes, watching to avoid letting the bottoms burn.
7. Eat warm.

Walnut and Sage Foccacia

dough:
I used the Olive oil dough recipe from here. I substituted 2 cups whole wheat flour for 2 1/2 cups of regular flour but it will be good either way. This makes a double batch so if you only want one focaccia worth of dough halve it. The topping below is enough for one.

topping/filling:
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup fresh sage, minced
1 tablespoon rock salt
2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Turn on oven to 400F. Toast walnuts. Bring walnuts up to medium low heat in a skillet tossing regularly. When they start to smell fragrant, remove. Once it is risen, or after it has been taken out of the fridge and brought to room temperature turn out onto a well floured counter top. Flatten roughly and sprinkle on walnuts and sage.

Roll up like a jelly rough and knead dough for a few minutes to incorporate, you may need to add more flour at your discretion to keep it from sticking. Grease a baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Flatten and stretch the dough into a rectangle and transfer to the baking sheet, pressing into the corners. Drizzle over remaining olive oil and brush to distribute, sprinkle on rock salt. Using your finger tips press dough to create indentations – you should see pools of olive oil, you want this. Trust me.

Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise for 20 minutes. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until nice and browned.