The Healthy-Enough-For-Breakfast Cake

 

 

While white smoke was billowing from the Vatican on Wednesday evening announcing the newly-elected pope to the world, I was in my kitchen dusting white clouds of powdered sugar onto this lovely little creation of mine.

 

Ok, so that isn't entirely true.
I baked the cake on Tuesday, not Wednesday, and quickly sprinkled on some sugar for styling reasons before it had truly cooled down just so I could snap a few pictures before it got dark. So excuse my use of artistic license... a blogger's gotta do what a blogger's gotta do, right? ;o)

 

 

What you don't need, however, is an excuse to have cake for breakfast anymore (not that that has ever been an issue here in Italy).

 

There is no butter, no sugar (except that little sprinkling added for styling purposes) and no highly processed flour in this cake. Yet it does not taste like cardboard. I promised you a long time ago I would never publish healthy yet unappetizing excuses for a dessert. And I never have, although I have made my share over the years. So trust me on this one, 'kay?

 

This cake is moist (really, really moist) and packed with nutritious ingredients: honey (antioxidants, antibacterials), olive oil (antioxidants and vitamin E), carrots (beta carotene, vitamin E), coconut (vitamin C, fiber), Greek yogurt (calcium, acidophilus), oat flour (vitamin B, iron, calcium), wholewheat flour (fiber, folates, vitamin B).

 

 

See how moist it is?

You can use grated zucchini instead of carrots, substitute some of the yogurt, olive oil or even honey with apple sauce... well, you get the gist. Just make it! We have been eating it all week and it is as moist and satisfying as the first day.

Wishing you all a lovely week end. I know I am looking forward to mine!

Ingredients

3/4 cup wholewheat flour
3/4 cup oat flour
2 heaping tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
3/4 cup honey
1 1/4 cup finely grated carrots
1/2 cup unsweetened dried coconut
1- 1 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C and grease a traditional round layer cake pan or a springform tube pan (I used the latter). Whisk together flours, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Beat the eggs, mix in the yogurt, eggs, honey, finely grated carrots (I used a food processor), coconut, oil and vanilla. Then mix in the dry ingredients. Pour into the pan and bake for 40-45 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean). Let cake cool on rack for a few minutes and then ummold. When the cake has completely cooled down you can sprinkle it with powdered sugar, or not if you want to stick to the healthy -enough-for-breakfast rule.

 

 

 

 

 

Roasted eggplant salad with tzatziki herb dressing

My daughter will be back tomorrow and I can't wait to see her. This week, however, has given me time to spend with my youngest.

He never had the fortune of being the first, that little creature who totally capsizes your world in wonderful (and not always so wonderful) ways. The baby you spend hours staring at, playing with, nurturing. Your first baby is the one you take endless pictures of, you make scrapbooks for, recording every detail of her growth. You scrutinize the content of each and every diaper, you count the strands of hair and sprouting teeth over and over. The first is the baby you play classical music for when she is in your tummy, you do not allow near sugar and salt or anything with a bit of flavor for the first two years of her life. Your first child starts watching TV (10 minutes and no more) when she is a toddler and is only allowed to watch educational programs. You buy her specific toys and/or books for every stage of her devolopment and spend time playing/reading with her. You take her to baby massage groups and English playgroups (if you live abroad) and hum lullabies to her in a semi-dark room at naptime.

By the time your second comes along it is a whole different world. Whilst in your tummy he is already a comfy perch for the older child, forget Mozart's sweet notes. As soon as he is out, his world is a place of noise and light. No lullabies in cool, dark rooms. If he survives his older sibling he will be picking up the crumbs from her cookies and initiating his sugar intake long before he is two. Every time he starts playing with a toy, his older sister will grab it from him (well, to be fair, he will do the same). He will constantly be sucking on that made-in-China barbie or car made out of toxic materials and with a million detachable pieces that his sibling got as a present from their great aunt's cousin twice removed last month.

When I had my second child, my sister warned me I would not take as many picture of him. I promised myself I would, that he would get his personal storyboard, just like my first. I have stuck to that. But that is pretty much it.

He had his first taste of ice cream before he turned two and when he watches TV it is usually Barbie and the 200 Dancing Princesses in the friggin' Diamond Castle. Or Shrek when he gets lucky. His bedtime books are usually more intricate than the Dr. Seuss and Baby Einstein we read to him every once in a while. He has never known the delight of playing with the floating letters and Sesame Street characters all on his own.

All in all, he does have the constant entertainment and company of another child, unlike his sister did. He has a very active social life, I'll give you that, but it is really his sisters'. No fancy English playgroups and massages for that guy. He hangs out with snotty-nosed babies and cool three-year olds because they are his sister's friends'younger siblings. All in all he has it pretty good, he is stimulated (albeit in a different way than my first), he is 2 going on to 6 and has a sugar and salt-coated life.

But I for once I wanted him to feel like my first. The last and only time his sister went away he was too distraught to enjoy it. This week he did a lot better and I pampered him and cuddled him and kissed his little cheeks sore. We read the Foot Book and Good Night Gorilla over and over, we played with non-toxic games that are age appropriate and I sat with him and taught him all the tricks. He splashed in the bathtub to his delight and we watched The Bear in the Big Blue House and Thomas the Train. We both miss his sister a lot, and every time he asks where she is I am wondering the same thing, but I am grateful for every extra cuddle I can give him this week.

Since he loved the yogurt sauce (and posing with it) I made recently so much and because I am always thinking up new ways to get him to eat vegetables, I decided to make this to spoil him a little. He did not mind in the least.

Loosely inspired by Ottolenghi's recipe taught in person to the Heavenly Housewife.

Kafta-style meatball salad with yogurt tahini dressing

Yesterday I was able to leave the office a little earlier than usual so I decided to do something I hate almost as much as filing my papers: buying a bathing suit. A one-piece bathing suit.

Let me recreate the scenario, just so you can cringe a little. Because I know you've been there.

When: beginning of sales.
Where: a department store, Ladies' lingerie & beachwear section.
Who: myself and a million other ladies.

A few notes:

- I live in a country where the average woman is petite and has a good figure

- I live in a country where women often have beautiful olive skin
- I am a pale, freckly blonde
- I live in a country where thongs and Brazilian bikinis reign

- I want the '80's back, when one-piece bathing suits were cool (and when I looked great in a bikini so it didn't matter)

- I have had two children in the past 5 years

- I ain't getting any younger

- My bikini top and bottom are completely different sizes (and no, not in the good way i.e. larger on top, smaller on bottom)

 - No bathing suit looks flattering with your underwear sticking out of it.

A few questions:

- Why is there neon lighting in changing rooms?

- Why are the best mirrors just outside the changing room?

- Why do most changing rooms have flimsy curtains instead of doors?

- Why does the old bag in the changing room next to mine force her embarassed husband to go with her?

- Why does he have to stand right between changing rooms, exactly where the flimsy curtain doesn't reach?

- Why, o why do bathing suits never look as good on my rack as they do on the sales rack?

I actually made it out with two nice one piece bathing suits (I'm telling you, no one buys them anymore) and this time the changing room actually had doors. So I'm not complaining. But after seeing each and every shadow cast on my thighs (where there shouldn't be any shadows) by the neon lighting, I am increasing my running schedule and having more of this for lunch.

As you can see all the way down below, the kids loved it. My son was partial to the yogurt sauce while my daughter devoured at least 15 meatballs. They were also a great help making the meatballs.

Child labor

Kafta recipe loosely adapted from Joumana's.

Easter egg brownies for grown ups

If you are anything like me, this post may be a tad late because this is a recipe to use up some of that left over chocolate from Easter. If you have any left over, that is.

Now I am the perfect mom, only allowing my kids a few pieces of their chocolate Easter eggs here and there. To then sit in front of the TV while they are in bed chomping on their goodies. I know, I know... but what goes better with gilded uniforms, diamond tiaras, white gloves and lace sealed with a kiss in front of a cheering crowd then that sugary goodness?

Ok, I actually watched the royal wedding of the decade in the office with a bunch of colleagues, some (men) feigning disinterest but nonetheless peaking at Kate, Will, Pippa & Co. (especially Pippa). After all, we do work in an investment bank and it was a bank holiday across the Channel so our phones and emails on Friday were pretty dead as a result.  

I did however stuff my face nibble on my childrens' Rapunzel and Barbapapa chocolate eggs during a few episodes of Glee.

 

So now you understand why it was essential for me to get rid of that stash immediately. Problem being, I do not bake with milk chocolate. I started searching the Internet thinking I would just come up with tooth-achingly sweet recipes only suitable for kids. Not so. With a little research and some tweaking here and there, I actually made something much more grown up and healthy than I expected (with an added bonus: the kids liked it too).

There is no butter in this recipe, the moistness coming from the Greek yogurt, but it is rich and dense, the sweetness mainly coming from the nuggets of creamy milk chocolate these brownies are studded with. If it weren't for the children, a dash of coffee would have been perfect in the batter. If you try it, let me know.

Olive oil, lemon zest and Greek yogurt cake



Today was supposed to be my day.

F. left yesterday on a business trip. He is usually in charge of taking the children to kindergarden and daycare since I go to the office shortly after 7AM. Since I had some paid leave hours I had to use up by the end of the month before they expired, I decided I would drop the children at school and take a day off all for myself. This was a first in the five years I have been a mom.

I would take the kids to their classrooms, I would meet up with a friend for coffee in a café near school and have one of their amazing nutella croissants. I would then go to the Tuesday market 10 steps from my front door to buy large amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables, some mozzarella di bufala perhaps, maybe some olives from large overflowing buckets. I would then go home and  have a few luxurious hours to cook something for my blog without any interference. I could even try something a little more complex and time consuming. I could take pictures in daylight, try to improve my technique. Then off to a sushi lunch with my friend and just a few more hours to get some things done in the house that I never get to do when the kids are running around. A quick trip to a neighborhood fabric store to pick up something to make with my daughter for her carnival costume and then off to pick up the kids early for once. The perfect day.

But as we all know, no plan is perfect, especially when it involves a mother with children younger than 20 taking a few hours for herself. Moms all over the world, you hear me, right? You know what I am talking about, don't you? Just thinking words as harmless as 'haircut' or 'manicure' or even just 'book' is asking for trouble. And so no sushi and Nutella for Mommy, no vegetables and fruit in the fridge, no time to finally make something a little more intriguing for you my friends...

In the middle of a thereafter sleepless night, my little boy got a fever. He is not sick enough (fortunately!) that he can't play, but just sick enough that he is whiney and clingy and needs constant entertainment. As I was writing the first paragraph (while he was suddenly - finally - incredibly busy playing with his car in the kitchen sink, standing on his Stokke chair), I turned to find him pouring dish soap all over the counters and floor and noticed some suspicious looking bubbles on his lips. I now write as he sleeps.

So instead of the confit de canard and the multi-layered cakes I had been envisioning, here is a recipe for a cake that is the essence of the sunny Mediterranean at its simplest. Olive oil, lemon zest, Greek yogurt. I have been seeing this recipe bouncing from blog to blog in different versions lately and admit my curiosity was piqued. What would a cake made with the lovely Tuscan extra virgin olive oil I have taste like?

The result was moist, not overly sweet, with a slightly citrusy taste and a suttle yet distinct fruitiness from the olive oil. It is what I consider a perfect breakfast cake, or fitting to eat with a cup of tea on a rainy day with a sweet, feverish bundle asleep in your arms.