Lime Yogurt Cake with berry coulis

I found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs of all time smittenkitchen.com

It is super delish and fairly easy to make.

Cake

1 cup whole milk plain unsweetened yogurt (this is the ideal; however, I had success with 2% Greek yogurt)

1/3 cup vegetable oil (olive oil works as well, for a slightly different flavor profile)

1 cup sugar

zest of one lime

1/4 cup lime juice

2 eggs

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt



Sauce

12 ounces fresh blackberries (frozen should work as well, but you should start with half the water)

1/4 cup water

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice



Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the sides of a 9-inch round cake pan or springform pan with oil (I used a butter and flour spray out of habit, which works as well) and line the bottom with parchment paper if the pan is not springform.



In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, oil, sugar, lime zest and juice. Add the eggs one by one, whisking well after each addition. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together, right over your yogurt batter. Stir with a spoon until just combined.



Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let stand for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the pan to loosen. If you’re using the springform pan, unclasp the sides. Otherwise, flip the cake onto a plate and flip it back on the rack. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.



Make sauce: Combine blackberries, water, sugar and lime juice in blender or food processor. Purée until very smooth, then press through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Cover and refrigerate until cold.



I made the cake exactly how she reccommends. However I messed with the sauce a bit because I had some blueberry on hand and added that in instead of the full ammount of blackberrys.

I am infatuated with her photography . I am also a fan of the recipes ;p Usually things are easy enough to make so I don't have to go buy a million ingredients, or devote too much time to the prep ,but not so dumbed down I feel insulted.

On a side note....I hate it when recipes are over simplified. I realize that there are beginners out there who want to have it on a first grade level, but in my opinion the vast majority of people who are cooking are at least at a intermidiate skill level. Some even expert .  sorry, rabbit trail

The point is, this was a great summer cake, you should make it.

Is it too early to be thinking of Halloween?

So I had these bottles.....

And I thought "Hey these would make a great Halloween prop"

I think I am going to remake the labels, these ones I just scribbled with some colored pencils late last night

 I thought it would be really cool to wrap the neck of the bottles with twine so they will look more authentic. Also, I plan on making some sort of appropriate to each label filling that will be silly and scary.

Maybe some peanut shells for the "Scarab Carapace" ? or some Grenadine for "Dragons Blood" ?  I'm not sure yet for the whole "Eye of Newt" thing, maybe some small white beads in a hazy liquid?

I also found online someone who makes this type of bottles but hers are super professional and cool.

Check this out

You can find them at aranamuerta.com and in her etsy shop under the same name.

These were my inspiration, hopefully when I'm done mine will be half as cool!

Summer Solstice Cake

This past week we celebrated the summer solstice, and here is the cake I made.

Traditionally, one would leave honeycakes as an offering in pagan culture, but this was carrot cake. I figured with all the fruit, veg, nuts, etc inside it was pretty nature-oriented and solstice appropriate.

I actually cooked up a storm, but forgot to take pictures of everything....sorry

So here is the

Summer Solstice Menu

assorted cheese and cured meats with fresh grapes

Deviled eggs

Hummus and Pita Chips

Spinach Fleetah

Pesto Pasta Salad with Grilled Vegetables

Chickpea salad

with

cucumber, tomato, and red onion

 Multicolored peppers

stuffed with a lemon, roasted tomato, spinach and basmati rice stuffing

Yogurt Marinated Chicken Kabobs

and

Roasted Vegetable Kabobs

with

Homemade Tzatzki

and

Toasted Pitas

frest fruit salad

Solstice inspired Carrot Cake

Fresh Made Lemonaide

Sangria

with fresh sliced apples,oranges, and limes

Mango Rum punch

Here is a pic of the peppers stuffing before they were stuffed

More pics to come later hopefully

Cute little Kitties

                                          Look at these cute babies I found under my house!

Awwwww

Torture Museum in Amsterdam, Holland

Amsterdam.... after dark

Red light District...

Nima, Me and Joe

an arty pic Joe took of someone repairing the tram tracks

Palm Breweries ponies

The Palm logo is a Belgian horse, and the owner of the company really takes it to heart. He has an entire estate dedicated to the breed. At one point the Belgians were almost extinct because they are such large animals and require so much food it wasn't feasable for farmers to use them anymore. The invention of the motorized tractor also had alot to do with it. The owner of Palm has started and successfully ran a breeding program to increase their numbers and ensure that this majestic animal is around for future generations.

The horses also have a small castle to themselves!

Palm Breweries

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