Category Archives: recipe

by Becki | September 16, 2014 · 10:19 am

Colorado Mary

All of the days have been blending together. The only way I’m able to figure out the difference between a weekday and a weekend is whether or not there’s a food truck outside the brewery.
A delicious Arepa Verde – a Colombian-style corn cake topped with avocado mayo, crispy pork, cilantro and lime juice from SoBe Fort Collins.
Nomad Street Cuisine came on Saturday and I had one of the best burgers I’ve ever consumed. I don’t give out those labels lightly, my friends.
Creamy Camobozola cheese, spicy arugula and sweet ‘n savory bacon jam on a juicy patty, served in a tender brioche bun. This was on par with my favorite burger of all time – The LAB burger. Seriously, it’s that good.
I could tell is was Sunday because the brewery was in use. We brewed our first guest beer – pumpkin ale!
Caramelized with a blow torch. Just because we can.
100lbs of torch-caramelized pumpkin went into the brew. I’m beyond excited to finally taste it!
My recipe development for Snowbank Brewing has been going slowly, but surely. After the Chimichurri and Pale Ale Infused Artichoke I ran out of time to cook for a while. This latest recipe was inspired by our traditional brunch we attend every Sunday.
Bloody Mary Sundays at Gravity 1020, redux.

I’d like to start by saying that I do not like Bloody Mary’s. I’d only had two in my life and they just were not for me. Until this.
[gmc_recipe 8125]
This spicy twist on the traditional Bloody Mary with the addition of beer makes all the difference. The sweet malts and tomato juice are balanced out by the tangy vinegar and fiery ghost pepper. Add bacon. You just have to.

And now I must head back to the brewery for yet another day of work. We have a special tasting with Tasty Harmony this evening for an exciting upcoming project. It’s no food truck, but I’m sure not complaining!

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Tagged as beer bloody mary, Colorado Red, Nomad Street Cuisine, Snowbank Brewing, SoBe FoCo

by Becki | September 4, 2014 · 7:00 am

Chimichurri and Pale Ale Infused Artichoke

Working at the brewery every single day makes it pretty difficult to find the time to actually cook something. Luckily, I’ve got the pressure cooker to combat that issue. Photographing is another story since I get home after dark every day. For this artichoke recipe, I started cooking at 9am so I could get my good lighting, wrap it up and be at the brewery by 10am. Nothing like garlicky artichokes and beer for breakfast!
This is a recipe that has been on my brain ever since that first fateful day of Becki vs. artichoke. If you cannot beat the artichoke, you must become the artichoke. Lourdes Gourmet sent me another care package in the mail so I could actually make that dream of a recipe become a reality. First, you hack off the top inch of the artichoke and trim the leaves with kitchen shears.
Smother the top with chimichurri sauce, being sure to work the sauce into the leaves with the spoon.
Place in a pressure cooker with a cup of pale ale (preferably Snowbank Brewing’s Bike Trail Pale) and cook for 10-12 minutes.
Serve and pair with a pint of the same pale ale you cooked with.
[gmc_recipe 8065]
The butter sauce for dipping afterwards is completely unnecessary. The Lourdes Gourmet Chimichurri Sauce melts in the pressure cooker and falls inside the leaves of the artichoke while the pale ale infuses its flavor into each piece. This is, hands down, the BEST and most tender artichoke I’ve ever consumed in my entire life. I ate it for breakfast and I would eat it again with every meal if I had the means to make it.

Now go invest in a pressure cooker and order some of this sauce online. You can thank me later.

I was supplied with free product from Lourdes Gourmet with which to create recipes. All reviews/opinions/obsessions are my own.

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Tagged as artichoke, artichokes cooked in beer, chimichurri sauce, Lourdes Gourmet, pressure cooker artichoke

by Becki | July 21, 2014 · 7:00 am

Sweet ‘n Smoky Short Ribs with Cauliflower Mash

Colorado has been getting some crazy weather lately!
See those specks? That’s cottonwood, embarking on an allergy-infested journey from the trees into people’s sinuses.
Crazy gushers have been rampant, followed by plenty of hail and booming thunder.
And then God apologizes and sends us sunsets like this. Love it. Love all the craziness, hail included.
For all those moments when we were stuck inside, avoiding the drenching, piercing rains, this box came to the rescue.
So pretty!
They’re always saying you should add some color to your diet.
My favorites from the box were the Chico King pale and Double Latte stout. Luckily, I have plenty of craft beer nerd friends who were willing to split some bottles with me. These are all pretty hefty beers and they definitely needed to be shared.
For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that I got a pressure cooker as a housewarming gift! All those beers in a box + people who want to share said beers + a new pressure cooker = vegan split pea COOKOFF and beer tasting!
(Spoiler alert – mine was too thick, Janna’s was too thin so we ended up blending them together and the ending result was AWESOME!) We spent the evening sipping, stirring, laughing and playing with puppies.
My handsome fella joined us for the cook-off and a sleepover. Augh, that face! I love my rescue puppy!

Anyway back to the pressure cooker…
It’s led to crazy things like me making more artichokes. Despite the first debacle, I’ve become obsessed with artichokes. Unhealthily obsessed.
The ridiculous amount of chokes and vegan things I was creating in my pressure cooker left me craving something a wee bit more substantial. I was sitting on my couch with the pup and got an insane, desperate need to make short ribs. And there definitely needed to be beer in that recipe.
Stout, to be specific.
I seared off three pounds of these babies, threw a bunch of beer, vinegars, sugars and spices into the pressure cooker, shut the lid and prayed.
To add a little health factor, I rested the short ribs on a smoky cauliflower mash. All the carnivores in the house adored this recipe. J’adore.
[gmc_recipe 7887]
I also highly recommend pairing it with the same stout you include in the recipe. Oh pressure cooker, you’ve changed my life!

What’s your favorite kitchen appliance/tool? I thought nothing could beat the slow cooker, but I think I may have just been proven wrong.

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Tagged as Beer Camp, cauliflower puree, pressure cooker short ribs, short ribs, short ribs and beer

by Becki | July 14, 2014 · 11:05 am

Kitchen Sink Banana Bread

A quick recap of last week before we launch into this week’s latest recipe.
Biking to beer is my latest favorite thing to do. This Sorachi saison from Funkwerks tasted so much better after I worked for it!
My pops had a birthday last week! We visited Dancing Pines distillery in Loveland, shared a flight and ended up heading out with their brand new vodka (distilled from grapes!) and cherry liqueur. Goooood stuff!
And we visited the gun store. Looking, no touching after that tasting.
I got funky new pants from Marshall’s and watched my dog go camouflage. He’s kind of cool like that.
I baked balsamic olive oil cookies for the housewarming party I threw on Friday night.
It started pouring right after I snapped this picture. A rousing game of Hedbanz was played until we all hurt from laughing so hard. I left the cleaning for my roommate and was in bed around 12:30am because…
Saturday morning brew! More details about all of this to come, but until then follow Snowbank Brewing on Twitter! I’m running the Twitterverse there during all of our brew days/tappings/random outings.
Leftover cookies and caustic acid. Looking back, I probably should’ve removed the acid-covered nitrile gloves before consuming this…
After a 22 hour brew day, we returned for yet another brew day yesterday. My body was screaming for greens so I whipped up a green monsta before heading back to the shiny tanks.
Which brings me to this bread. I bake things for brew days. That’s just what I do. Pumpkin donuts and face cookies were my Enegren tradition, so I figured it would be a good thing to carry on with my new brewery.
I had leftover pumpkin puree from last week’s pumpkin donuts, and half of an avocado from some guacamole I’d made earlier this week. I figured since they were about to go bad, along with the huge bunch of Costco bananas, I’d just throw them into the bread and see what happened.
Delicious success! And way too much orange in these food styling pics… I think it’s time to go buy some new props…
I threw in some chia seeds as well to make myself feel like this bread was even healthier. So there’s that.
[gmc_recipe 7849]
I’m off to another crazy busy week! Happy Monday!

What else do you bake with browning bananas? I have a ton more I need to use up!

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Tagged as baking, banana bread, brewing, Craft Beer, healthy banana bread

by Becki | June 23, 2014 · 5:00 am

Mixed Vegetable Hash with Imitation Panda Meat

I know I sparked your interest when I posted this picture last week…
My interest was sparked as well and I went home with two of these sausages to test out. But before I get into the recipe, here’s a recap of last week – It was insanely awesome and busy.
Fridays are free pretzel day at The Mayor of Old Town. This will be a new tradition of mine, so if you’re in FoCo on Fridays and want me to treat you to a jalapeno cheese pretzel with raspberry jam, show up and I’ll generously call over the waitress so you can enjoy one of these heavenly babies!
The evenings have been absolutely to die for up here! I went out with some friends after Mayor and enjoyed a few of the many patios about town.
Hot Rocks Lager from Port Brewing. Drooool.
Saturday was the Taste of Fort Collins. I went with my friend Kara and met up with a handful of people to sample the goods and enjoy a concert.
Braffle (a brat smothered in sauerkraut and maple syrup, wrapped in a waffle) from the Waffle Lab and Collective Soul!
I had to Google Collective Soul to find out who they were… BUT they played three songs that I recognized from my middle school years! The drunken crowds rocked out until the sun set.
Father’s Day was spent up in the mountains eating mass amounts of Indian buffet, helping pull a guy out of the middle of the road who had passed out on his bike after drinking a pint (no joke) of vodka and threatened a bunch people with a knife. We calmed our nerves that night with Pure Imagination stout from Verboten Brewing.
My Aerogarden is a success! I ate these leaves and promptly had to sit down from the exhaustion of the harvest.
And that brings us back to this. Imitation panda meat. I came across this at The Boar and Bull – a local butcher shop in Loveland that has some of the most delicious beef tenderloin I’ve ever had the good luck to consume. I saw these and knew I couldn’t leave without ’em. It is not, in fact, panda meat. Shocker, I know. These sausages are full of pork, bacon, cheddar cheese, red onions and Coca Cola. They. Are. Incredible.
To make this hash, I used the handy Veggetti.
It’s basically a much cheaper version of a spiralizer that takes up less space and gets you an arm workout.
It’s also very sharp. Be careful so you don’t end up with sliced fingers like me. Genius.
I shredded two potatoes and a zucchini…
Sliced up some onions extremely thin, threw them in a pan to soften…
Sliced up some asparagus into matchsticks and threw them into the pan with the zucchini and potatoes…
Cooked up some panda in a separate pan, then threw everything together…
Magic!
[gmc_recipe 7775]
Real panda meat. Would you or wouldn’t you?

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Tagged as Fort Collins, imitation panda meat, Taste of Fort Collins, The Bull and Boar, vegetable hash browns

by Becki | June 16, 2014 · 5:00 am

Coconut Roasted Sweet Potatoes

One week until internet finally graces my house! Until then, I’m thanking Oprah for her chai while resting in the wonderfully air conditioned Starbucks in Old Town Fort Collins. It’s a welcome change after slaving over a hot oven to make these gems!
I’m completely exaggerating. This is one of the simplest and tastiest recipes I’ve ever made. A few weeks ago I received an awesome care package in the mail from my bestest buddy Rick.
In case you’ve forgotten, I should remind you of my obsession with Lourdes Gourmet chimichurri sauce. I discovered this four years ago at the farmers market in Ventura County and couldn’t get my mind away from it. I dreamed about the wonderfully tangy and herby spread, slathered slices of bread with it, basically drank the stuff. When Rick was kind enough to send me all these other goodies, I knew yet another unhealthy obsession was about to occur.
The coconut spread. Another thing with which I’ve been slathering slices of bread. I decided that an actual recipe should occur before I finished every single jar in my fridge.
[gmc_recipe 7753]
Simple, quasi-healthy and delicious! Thanks to Rick for both the care package and patience!

What’s your favorite way to spice up a simple sweet potato?

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by Becki | June 9, 2014 · 3:00 am

Chocolate Caramel Porter Pops

I think it’s official. I think we may finally be over the random days of waking up to find snow covering the ground! (Knock on wood.)
There have been many a wonderful spring shower in the afternoon, but the temperature is finally on a continuous upswing! We’ve been getting 90+ degrees for the last week. Summer is coming! And summer calls for…
Popsicles!!! Not just any popsicles though. Popsicles with BEER in them!
I teamed up with fairlife to bring some boozy recipes to the table. Some of them definitely haven’t worked out.
Beer + dairy = curdled sadness. But these beersicles are a winner!
The rich creaminess of the fairlife 2% chocolate milk makes the texture of these like fudgsicles, not the bland, crystallized, icy frozen milk you might expect. You’ll notice that I instructed to put the beer in the base of these popsicles whereas the pictures are reversed. After a horrible disaster that ended with me hand mopping my entire kitchen floor, I determined that the softer consistency of the frozen beer part would better be placed on the top of the popsicle so you don’t get stuck with puddles of sweet beer and chocolate milk on your floor. You’re welcome.
I used one of my favorite porters around – Killer Boots caramel porter by Verboten Brewing. First, make a simple syrup and let cool completely. I chilled mine in the fridge for a good hour.
Slowly mix together the beer and simple syrup, tasting as you go. These beersicles end up pretty sweet, so you may want to use less than I did.
Fill the bases of the popsicle with the beer mixture and let them freeze for 2-4 hours, or until slightly solidified.
Fill them the rest of the way with fairlife 2% chocolate milk, until 1/4 inch to the top.
The genius that I am, I forgot science and the fact that liquids expand as they freeze, so after filling the molds up all the way I ended up cleaning out my freezer and rinsing off the overflow. Don’t do that.
When completely frozen, place the molds in a cup of hot water for about two minutes until the popsicles slide right out and enjoy!
[gmc_recipe 7715]
Happy almost summer to everyone! What’s your favorite style/flavor of popsicle?

Note: I was provided free product and compensation by fairlife to create this recipe. All text and opinions are my own.

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Tagged as beer icepops, beer popsicles, beersicles, fairlife, Killer Boots, popsicles, Verboten Brewing

by Becki | February 21, 2014 · 5:00 am

Vegan Whole Grain Protein Bread

Thursday was a homemaker day: a lazy morning lounging by the fire sipping copious amounts of coffee and reading blogs. An hour long intensive workout followed by an aromatherapy shower. A load of laundry. Making the bed with clean sheets. Folding warm clothes fresh from the dryer. Answering reader emails, writing interview quotes, figuring out ways to use up the spinach that’s about to peak.
Green monstas. I adore them.
Kale with leftover Tuno salad and diced pickles, topped with wheat berries.
Freshly baked bread. Meditation and kneading bread are the same thing.
Standing in the kitchen, staring out at the Rocky Mountains while Bastille plays through the dining room speakers, wrist deep in tacky dough that smells of maple syrup and warm yeast. That was my Thursday.
Once the piping hot loaves emerged from the oven, they were delicately sliced and placed in the basking glow of the sunset for photographing.
I almost forgot to taste test but, just in time, slathered a slice with my chimichurri sauce to inhale.
And it was gooooood.
[gmc_recipe 7299]
Happy Friday! You made it through the week! What are your big plans for the weekend?

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Tagged as protein bread, quinoa bread, vegan bread, wheat berry bread, whole grain bread

by Becki | December 23, 2013 · 3:00 am

Christmas Foods Roundup

It’s Christmas Eve Eve! I think it’s about time to get those recipes in order. Here are some of our family traditions and my recommendations for some epic meals for the day!
Savory Christmas Bread Pudding – aka Eggs Portugal. We’ve had this every year as far back as I can remember, and I can’t imagine a Christmas without it! Serve it with fresh apple cider and coffee, and you’re good to go!
Eggnog Spiked Christmas Kettle Corn – in between second, third and fourth helpings of the bread pudding, this is an easy and delicious go-to snack to keep up the blood sugar!
Molasses Spiked Sirups Kager – these are a slightly healthier version of a family recipe, and can be made vegan-friendly!
Vanilla Porter Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies – wonderfully rich chocolate cookies with a burst of sweetness from the maraschino cherries and a boozy frosting to top it off.
Wilted Kale and Quinoa Salad with Maple-Glazed Pecans – if you need a break from the sugar, this is a wonderful appetizer/side dish/meal to help you feel just a tad better before sitting down for the Christmas ham (or fifth helping of Savory Christmas Bread Pudding in my case).
Caramel Pecan Caffetini – finish the long day with a decadent chocolate-coffee martini, drizzled with salted caramel sauce. Make sure you’ve changed back into fuzzy pajama pants for this if you got dressed for some strange reason during the day.

Happy cooking!

Do you have any traditional foods or family recipes you make every year for Christmas?

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by Becki | December 16, 2013 · 8:30 pm

Eggnog Spiked Christmas Kettle Corn

Anyone else feeling way behind in the holiday season? Our tree still doesn’t have ornaments on it, and for us, that is a HUGE deal. Normally the tree is up and decorated the day after Thanksgiving and I’d be ready for the Christmas music to finally cease at this point. Instead I’m trying to catch up to the whirlwind of the season and feel a little Christmas spirit before the year is over!
Barrel-aged Velvet Merkin – this is a good start. Rich oatmeal stout with a potent aroma and flavor of bourbon in front of the fire? Sounds like Christmas-time to me!
I also thought a little seasonal snack might help. I was never a big fan of eggnog as a kid, but ever since I found this Silk Seasonal Nog, I can’t get enough!
Pop some corn…
Make some nog-glaze…
Prettify the glaze….
Drizzle and enjoy! Sweet, salty, crunchy and vegan-friendly!
[gmc_recipe 6791]
Happy holidays!

Are you having trouble getting into the spirit of the season? I blame the late Thanksgiving!

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