Monday, January 17, 2011

Yogurt Cake

In 1994 I bought a book by Jacques Pepin titled Simple and Healthy Cooking. In its introduction Pepin speaks of reducing the proportions of fats and sugars while always maintaining his focus on taste. This is a book to which I return over and over for its high quality healthy renditions of favorite foods. I strongly recommend you buy this book and try your hand at his wonderful easy recipes. All of his recipes in this and other books have the nutritional content which allows you to keep track of what you are eating. Pepin continued to produce books with the same themes and they are well worth reading.

I have been yearning for cake and so today made his yogurt cake.

1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons Corn or canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup fat free yogurt
1 cup sifted cake flour ( I used whole wheat pastry flour instead)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 egg whites
5 cups fresh blueberries, washed drained and patted dry

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.Lightly coat an 8" round cake pan with vegetable cooking pray and set the pan aside. ( I used a bit of oil on a paper towel instead)Place the sugar, oil and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Combine with a wisk until well blended. Add the milk and yogurt, mix well. Then add the flour and baking soda and mix gently until they are incorporated. Place the eggwhites in a copper or stainless steel mixing bowl. Beat by hand with a large balloon whisk or with an electric mixer (fitted with a whisk attachment) at medium to high speed until the whites form stiff peaks when the beaters are lifted. Fold them into the batter. ( don't be too perfect with the folding..the idea is to not completely deflate the whites which will lift your cake..some streaks of white will be ok) pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
Cool the cake in the pan on a cake rack until it is lukewarm, then inbert it onto the rack and cool it completely.
To serve, cut the cake into 10 pieces. Tope each piece with 1/2 cup berries. I used frozen berries from Maine and sprinkled a bit of confectioners sugar through a sieve over the top of the cake.

This cake freezes well so I cut it in half and wrapped it first carefully in waxed paper then tucked it into a ziplock bag. To defrost place in the refrigerator

Here is a slightly different version..Lemon flavored

http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/138450/Lemon-Yogurt-Cake-with-Fresh-Berries

each piece is 162 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 0.6 grams saturated fat, 0 cholesterol, 64 mg sodium

Yogurt Cake

In 1994 I bought a book by Jacques Pepin titled Simple and Healthy Cooking. In its introduction Pepin speaks of reducing the proportions of fats and sugars while always maintaining his focus on taste. This is a book to which I return over and over for its high quality healthy renditions of favorite foods. I strongly recommend you buy this book and try your hand at his wonderful easy recipes. All of his recipes in this and other books have the nutritional content which allows you to keep track of what you are eating. Pepin continued to produce books with the same themes and they are well worth reading.

I have been yearning for cake and so today made his yogurt cake.

1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons Corn or canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup fat free yogurt
1 cup sifted cake flour ( I used whole wheat pastry flour instead)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 egg whites
5 cups fresh blueberries, washed drained and patted dry

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.Lightly coat an 8" round cake pan with vegetable cooking pray and set the pan aside. ( I used a bit of oil on a paper towel instead)Place the sugar, oil and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Combine with a wisk until well blended. Add the milk and yogurt, mix well. Then add the flour and baking soda and mix gently until they are incorporated. Place the eggwhites in a copper or stainless steel mixing bowl. Beat by hand with a large balloon whisk or with an electric mixer (fitted with a whisk attachment) at medium to high speed until the whites form stiff peaks when the beaters are lifted. Fold them into the batter. ( don't be too perfect with the folding..the idea is to not completely deflate the whites which will lift your cake..some streaks of white will be ok) pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
Cool the cake in the pan on a cake rack until it is lukewarm, then inbert it onto the rack and cool it completely.
To serve, cut the cake into 10 pieces. Tope each piece with 1/2 cup berries. I used frozen berries from Maine and sprinkled a bit of confectioners sugar through a sieve over the top of the cake.

This cake freezes well so I cut it in half and wrapped it first carefully in waxed paper then tucked it into a ziplock bag. To defrost place in the refrigerator

Here is a slightly different version..Lemon flavored

http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/138450/Lemon-Yogurt-Cake-with-Fresh-Berries

each piece is 162 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 0.6 grams saturated fat, 0 cholesterol, 64 mg sodium

Flip-Flops

Winter is the BEST season for this reason.


While most are bundled up in their sweaters and boots, I still get to let my pigs breathe and run through the grass. Florida is the best place in the world at this time of year.

Scientists Say We're All Screwed

Batten down the hatches!
A group of more than 100 scientists and experts say in a new report that California faces the risk of a massive "superstorm" that could flood a quarter of the state's homes and cause $300 billion to $400 billion in damage. Researchers point out that the potential scale of destruction in this storm scenario is four or five times the amount of damage that could be wrought by a major earthquake.
If you don't want to read the panting and gasping at the link, I'll synopsize. The global warming which Sarah Palin is causing might bring about massive floods, just like the ones that happen every 300 or so years. We'll know these floods will have been caused by global warming (unlike the previous 6) because scientists writing in peer-reviewed journals said so.


Soon this could be the view from behind the wheel in a Winnebago driving through the Sierra Mountains.

Healthier Option Cod and Chips with Homemade Spicy Salsa


It has to be said that cod is one of the very last things I expected to be eating tonight when I set out for the supermarket this afternoon. Why? Not because I don't love cod - I do! The reason why I did not expect to be eating cod is that I went in search of a cheaper, less popular type of fish, which I intended cooking, eating and publishing here in support of, "The Big Fish Fight," the fish conservation campaign newly featured towards the top of the right hand column of this blog, which is presently garnering a great deal of support here in the UK. I was amazed by what I discovered...


The image above shows a fillet of cod, more than a pound in weight, selling for considerably less than the price I would have expected to pay for it! The supermarket was sold out of coley, the fish I had most particularly gone in search of to cook tonight. I further discovered that the coley - while in stock - had been selling at a higher price than the cod. That must be a historical first. I can only assume that this is an economic knock-on from the campaign, affecting the price of fish at market. Fingers crossed it is a temporary issue and does not cause fish markets and the daily bidding to degenerate in to chaos, fishermen never knowing which catch will fetch the best price...

The recipe, however, is what matters most - on this blog - at this point in time. Needless to say, although my morals were disappointed to have to, "Settle for cod," the rest of me was more than happy to do so. The piece of cod which I purchased will be enough to form two generous portions.

The first step in this recipe is to get the salsa ingredients prepared, mixed together and stuck in the refrigerator for the flavours to have time to infuse.

Salsa Ingredients

1 medium tomato
2" of cucumber
1 clove of garlic
1 red chilli pepper
3 large basil leaves
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper


Salsa Preparation

The tomato should be halved and the cucumber likewise, straight down through the centre. The seeds of both should be scooped out with a teaspoon before they are finely diced and added to a mixing bowl or basin. The chilli pepper should be finely chopped (seeds in or out, depending upon preference,) the garlic clove peeled and grated and the basil leaves finely chopped. All should be added to the bowl, along with the olive oil and white wine vinegar. Season, stir well and cover with clingfilm. The salsa can now be refrigerated until the remainder of the meal is ready to serve.


I have prepared my chips as I normally do and have featured the method many times on this blog. In order to avoid excessive repetition, for those who are unfamiliar with my method, full instructions can be found here.


Note that in order to cook cod (or most types of fish) in this way, it is imperative you buy it with the skin still on. The skin will serve as protection during the intensity of the early cooking process and prevent the flesh from damage. When halving the cod as I have done here, you should cut in to it through the flesh with the skin side down. Trying to cut through the skin first will be likely to have disastrous consequences for the fillet and damage it considerably.


Add a couple of tablespoons of plain (all purpose) flour to a dinner plate, season it with salt and pepper and pat the cod fillet in it on the skin side. Bring some sunflower oil up to a fairly high heat in a non-stick frying pan, pat the excess flour off the cod and place it in to the pan, skin side down. It is at this stage you should begin the final frying of your chips.

The thickness of your cod fillet will determine its cooking time but allow ten minutes. Simply watch it from the side to see when it appears to have cooked three-quarters of the way through. You can determine this by watching the colour turn from transparent and slightly pink to white and opaque. When it has cooked to this extent, turn it over and reduce the heat. Around three minutes should be allowed to complete the cooking process.


In the image at the top of this post, I have served the cod with the skin on and a lemon wedge and basil leaves to garnish. If you prefer, you can very easily remove the skin by gently peeling it away and serve it in the fashion below, along with the chips and salsa. Do, however, give the salsa a taste and adjust the seasoning if required, immediately prior to service.

A Chinese Parenting Rebuttal by Supersloth Ayelet Waldman

In today's WSJ, lazy slob Ayelet Waldman sought to provide the Western rebuttal to Amy Chua's piece claiming that Chinese parents kick booty. She failed. Here's a tidbit of her advice to the slovenly.
Here are some of the things that my four children of a Jewish mother were always allowed to do:
  • Participate in any extracurricular activity they wanted, so long as I was never required to drive farther than 10 minutes to get them there, or to sit on a field in a folding chair in anything but the balmiest weather for any longer than 60 minutes.

  • Quit said extracurricular activities, especially if their quitting coincided with league finals that might have demanded participation on my part exceeding the requirements stated above.
Outstanding job standing up for the West, you toad. Quitting is the hallmark of champions, right Ayelet? I guess I can understand the 60 minutes threshold on kids activities. Sometime around minute 58 you probably feel the buzz wearing off and need to race home to mix up another batch of Ron Rico Rum and ValueRite Cola. That would explain the 10 minutes of driving, too, particularly if you took the back way to the event, the one where the cops are rarely seen.

Her column is a prose explanation of why the West can't manage to get up in the morning without borrowing a few tens of millions from the Chinese. For people like Ayelet, the most modest self-denial is an unrealistic expectation.

Update: Ayelet is from Berkley. Well duhhhhh.

HEATED OIL

 

              When oil heats up so much then sprinkle a little bit of salt or flour,then oil will cool down gradually.

Marinate overnight if possible - doh!

I should really read recipies more carefully beforehand as this isn't the first (and will undoubtedly not be the last) time that I get caught out with this. Oh well the Grilled Chicken Tacos with Fresh Orange Salsa - Page 103 - had nearly 2 hours of marinating time.  I'm sure thats overnight in some time zone. 

The marinade called for chipotle chillies and Tesco didn't have them - apparently they have a more gentle smokey flavour.  Will keep an eye out for them for future but for now bog standard red chilli.  As for the salsa it called for an orange seperated into segments.  Now me and segmenting oranges clearly don't go and I now have a fetching Peppa Pig plaster on my middle finger - cut finger & citrus juice & chilli - OUCH!  Even Peppa & George aren't managing to kiss it better.  If only it were as simple as the tap and unwrap of Terry's.  There's none of that pith and membrane when Dawn French tucks in.

So here's the finished article. There was supposed to be gucamole in the bottom of the taco (but I didn't make any/forgot/couldn't be bothered) then iceberg, then chicken, then salsa.  Girl had taco and chicken (with the bits of chilli picked off).  Boy refused the salsa but ate the rest. Mr ate it all (he knows which side his bread is buttered on)



Not sure I'd bother making it again.  Chicken itself was nice - basically marinaded in OJ, honey, chilli, S&P then grilled.  But the salsa wasn't all that special although the oranges did cut nicely through the chilli - or perhaps that was the blood!  Gucamole might have helped - seemed a bit dry. I served it with Jamie Olivers Rice & Peas from the 30 minute meals book. Its quickly become one of my staple side dishes and the leftovers are fab cold - it I will be making again and again.

We're cooking now!

Braised Lamb Shanks in rosemary and red wine
We really did it!
I always doubt that I can really create something that I see in magazine or on T.V.
I think that is why I like to cook just for the 4 of us.  I can 
risk failure
and the family is just happy to have food on the  table.
Now my son would like to learn how to cook.  
Pressure is on!  
A persnickety 14 year old watching over my cooking.  
Geez.  
First, I thought I would lose him when 4 legs of a (now deceased) lamb presented themselves for us to season.  
Nope.
He was o.k. with that 
(quite unbelievably)
We trimmed the bone, seasoned them, seared them on the stovetop, sauteed all of the veggies and herbs, and added the wine and lamb altogether. In the oven it all went for 3 hours of roasting. I think if the windows were open, we could have lured the entire neighborhood.
 My son was quite impressed with his mom and
that takes effort in the teen world I live in. Mom is usually 
losing credibility 
by the day 
around here.
Well, you know, it turned out really good. Thank goodness!!
  My little apprentice  thinks his mom can just whip up anything that strikes our fancy now that he has entered the cooking arena.  
What have I done?
He is currently drooling over individual chocolate souffles. 

(no pressure there, buddy, oh love of mine)

 that we saw on "Take Home Chef" 
(our current cooking inspiration show.  
Think we can do it?  
Hey!!  
Before I leave blogland and go back to the real world....I am starting a cooking class tonight.  
Cannot wait! 
Sadly, 
it's not at Kate's french farm 
in Gascon, France 
(see my list of blogs I follow) 
but I will just have to start somewhere!
I have no expectations so that is good.  I think it is going to be mostly watching someone else cook 
but I really have no idea.  I'm sure I'll be chatting about it here though.  It would probably 
bore my family to death!

Why Start with God's Word?







All photographs were taken by me at the Creation Museum in Kentucky.


Menu Plan Monday

I am trying to keep things simpler this week. I am trying 2 new recipes, one is a carry over from last week that I didn't get to. Menu planning makes the week go by so much faster and smoother!

Monday - Vegetable Soup
Tuesday - Pasta Salad with veggies
Wednesday - Eating out
Thursday - Tofu Parmigiana with fire roasted tomatoes (new recipe)
Friday - Dinner at inlaws
Sabbath - Homemade pizzas
Sunday - Cauliflower Gratin (new recipe)

Have a great menu planning week!


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