Sunflower Seed Cheddar Beer Bread

Two things that get better in the summer: beer and country music. Not that I don’t enjoy either of these things during the rest of the year, but seriously, this song, this song, and this song. And of course there is this classic – can you even have summer without it?!  All country music makes me want to do is be outside, drink a cold beer, run around with friends, and fall in love. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.

All those things. That is precisely what I am planning on doing this summer (except for the whole fall in love thing, but I guess we’ll see what’s in the cards for me). Oh, and also bike rides, Twins games, an outdoor concert or two, and trips to the cabins.

CABINS! Cabins.Are.The.Best. My parents bought a cabin at the end of last summer. After years and years of Sunday evening drives around the various Minnesota lakes looking at cabins, my parents finally took the plunge and did it. Not without tons of encouragement and pushing from my siblings and me, of course. We have dubbed it “The Jabin” since it is basically their new child and all their other children have J names. It’s a charming little place located in northern Minnesota with a lot of… opportunity. And potential. A work in progress, we shall say.

This weekend marked the first time that we would all be there together as a family… or, at least, it was supposed to be. My dad wasn’t able to come because he had to get fieldwork done. Due to the less-than-ideal weather situation over the past few months he wasn’t able to get into the field at all and couldn’t pass up the time to finally get some work done. Farmers, I tell you. #dedication. We obviously missed him, but will (hopefully) all be back together for the July 4^th weekend. I wanted to make a fun little treat to bring to The Jabin to share with my family. My mom was already bringing a cake that she made to celebrate my little brother’s (21^st!!!) birthday, so I didn’t want to bring any more sweets. Also I was a tad short on time.

Then this wonderful idea popped into my head: BEER BREAD. It was perfect. Everybody loves beer. Everybody loves bread. Everybody loves beer bread. So, duh.

And then I decided to add cheese. Because… CHEESE. I used sharp cheddar and must warn you to be careful… don’t cut yourself. Get it?! Sharp cheddar.

And it’s suuuuper simple to make. All you need is a bowl, a spoon, and a couple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry. Because who isn’t continually stocked with flour, beer, and cheese?

You can pretty much use any type of beer. I used Fat Tire. Added everything to a bowl and stirred it up. Then I poured melted butter over the top of it. The butter makes it extra delicious, as butter does to most things. Pop it in the oven for 50-55 minutes and you’ll get this beautiful loaf of bread. And let me tell you, it is gooood.

Saturday morning at The Jabin rolled around, and we didn’t just toast up the beer bread and eat it with some butter. No, no, no, no, no. We used it to make these delicious cheesy, egg, and bacon open-faced breakfast sandwiches. We fried up some bacon. We fried up some eggs (my brother and sister-in-law brought eggs from their chickens – look at those huge and perfect yolks!). We buttered and broiled the bread with some black pepper cheese. Then we assembled the sandwiches. Brewed some dark coffee. Mixed up some mimosas. And ate it with some fresh strawberries. This is what cabin life and summer is all about. That breakfast was the perfect way to start our Saturday. We spent the rest of the time exploring local junk markets (where I bought a truly awesome clock), laying out in the sun, reading, grilling, and checking out a local brewery, which is something our family loves to do together. Family bonding at its finest. A HUGE thank you to everyone who has, is, and will serve for this country. You are all truly heros. My heart goes out to all the families that have lost loved ones over the years.

I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.