Staple Recipe: Yogurt Cake

Ingredients :

1 6oz container of plain yogurt (or 3/4 cup yogurt)

1 yogurt container of vegetable oil 

1 packet of leuvre chimique (2 tsp baking powder) (*can skip if using self-rising flour*)

2 yogurt containers of sugar

3 yogurt containers of flour

3 eggs

To Make:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C or Oven level 6)

Mix ingredients in a large bowl.  

Pour mixture into a greased cake pan or cupcake liners.

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes (less for cupcakes) or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cake cool partly before removing from pan, then cool entirely on a wire rack before frosting.

Variations:

Spice Cake

• sub brown sugar for white sugar
• add 2 tsp pumpkin spice mix (1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp all spice and 1/4 tsp ground cloves)
• top with cream cheese frosting (1 package or 3oz cream cheese softened, 1/3 cup butter softened, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 cups powdered sugar)

Pumpkin Spice Cake

• prepare as spice cake above but add canned pumpkin puree to batter before baking

Carrot Cake

• prepare as spice cake above but add shredded carrots, chopped walnuts, and golden raisins to batter before baking.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

• Prepare as spice cake above but lay rings of pineapple in pan before adding batter
• flip cake over to cool
• decorate with a light caramel glaze and/or maraschino cherries placed in each hole of the pineapples

Chocolate Cake

• add cocoa powder to mix before baking
• top with a chocolate sour cream frosting (1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, 1/4 butter, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 1/2-2 3/4 cups confectioners sugar, melt butter, chocolate and sour cream together, add rest of ingredients and beat till smooth)

Chocolate Coconut Cake

• prepare as chocolate cake above but add shredded coconut to batter before baking
• sprinkle coconut on top of chocolate frosting for decoration

Chocolate Coffee Cake

• prepare as chocolate cake above but add instant coffee to mix before baking

Birthday Cake

• Add rainbow sprinkles to mix before baking
• Top with creamy butter frosting (1/3 cup butter, 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, 3-4 Tbsp milk, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp salt, cream together and beat till light and fluffy) and more rainbow sprinkles or chocolate candies

Lemon cake

• add lemon extract to batter
• add lemon zest if desired
• top with a glaze (powdered sugar and milk)

Apple Rum Cake

• add thinly sliced, diced or shredded apples to batter
• add a Tbsp of Cognac or Rum

Other Variations:

Add Different Mix-ins: coconut, walnuts, cocoa powder, instant coffee, shredded carrot, raisins, chocolate chips, pecans, almond extract, orange extract, dried apricots (snipped into small chunks), craisens, espresso...

Vary Yogurt Flavors: cherry, banana, blueberry, strawberry, pineapple, vanilla...

Vary Frostings and Toppings: glaze (powdered sugar and milk), chocolate frosting, buttercream frosting, cream cheese frosting, caramel sauce, a sprinkling of powdered sugar, whip cream, a sprinkling of cocoa powder, Nutella...

Veggie Tot Hotdish: The No Can Recipe

Here's a quick freezer meal that's easy to assemble and can be frozen as a make-ahead meal as well.  Our vegetarian version of the Minnesota Classic: Tater Tot Hotdish.

The big differences?
1. No canned ingredients (original recipe calls for canned veggies and soup)
2. No ground beef (go without or use those awesome Trader Joe's tofu crumbles)
3.  Use veggies on hand (I used some frozen corn and peas mixed with a bag of mixed vegetables)

Here's how to whip it up quickly for dinner tonight or to freeze ahead for another day.

Take a glass baking dish or ceramic casserole dish.

Sprinkle in a variety of mixed frozen vegetables.

Add ground tofu if desired.

Top with homemade cream of mushroom soup (Homemade white sauce thinned with milk and cooked with sliced mushrooms.  You can blend it all in a blender like I did after it's cooked for a smoother texture.)  Stir.


Cover top with a layer of frozen tater tots

Cover and freeze or bake directly at 350 to 425 until hot in the middle and bubbling a the sides.

That's it!  Easy, quick and healthier that the original.   You can even use sweet potato tots if you want but they're a bit crumbly.  Enjoy for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.

This freezes well in a casserole dish or aluminum pan.  Before baking, assemble frozen ingredients and cooled sauce into freezer safe container.  When ready to eat, reheat in oven until warm throughout.

Staple Recipe: Garnished Sauerkraut

Here's another super simple and versatile recipe that's a staple in the winter time when you need a hearty meal.  Called Choucroute Garni in France, this garnished sauerkraut dish is both easy and delicious.  An best of all, like Vegetarian CousCous, you can make it with what you have on hand.  It's also easy to make into a vegetarian dish like we do.

I'm a huge fan of root vegetables and my husband is vegetarian now so we've made some changes to this recipe over the years and that's just fin!  There's no real wrong way to do it.  Use the items that you'r family prefers.   I did some Goggling, compared a bunch or recipes for garnished sauerkraut, and came up with the flexible formula below:

Ingredients:

Canned, jarred or packaged sauerkraut

Any of the following components:

• garlic sausage
• hotdogs or veggie dogs
• onion
• carrot (peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks)
• sweet potato (sliced 1/4 in thick)
• new potatoes (peeled)
• russet potato (peeled and cut into large chunks)
• bratwurst
• thick cut bacon
• sliced ham
• any sausage
• pork ribs
• corned beef
• diced beef
• pitted prunes
• sliced apples (no need to peel)

Add any of the following to the sauerkraut for added flavor:

• a dash of white wine
• a couple glugs of your favorite beer
• bouillon cube or broth
• salt and pepper
• peppercorns
• a bay leaf
• minced or whole garlic cloves
• cherry tomato garnish
• onion
• garlic
• juniper berries
• caraway seeds
• parsley
• a spoonful of sugar
• any leftover meat on the bone

Step 1: Put 1-2 cans or jars of sauerkraut in a large stock pan.  Drain and rinse first if you are not a fan of the brine flavor.  I don't drain.  Add whatever flavorings you want to simmer with the kraut.  Classic choices are wine, sugar, onion, garlic, broth salt and pepper.  But you can use whatever.  We always have beer so I usually use that.  

Step 2: Prepare the components.  Peel and dice or cut into chunks, all the veggies and fruit you want.  One of each is fine, the more vegetables you use, the bigger the batch will be.  Brown franks and sausages in a pan.  Slice large sausages or meats.  Tough vegetables and whole potatoes can be steamed in a steamer first to make the whole thing cook faster.  That's usually what I do.  

Step 3: Then pile all your meats, vegetables and fruits onto of the kraut and cover.  Simmer till you are ready to eat and all the items are tender to the fork.  Pile a bit of each onto a plate and garnish with a shake of parsley or a cherry tomato or two if desired.  Serve with mustard. Dijon and fig mustard are our favorites but any will do.  Some meats are better served cold.  We usually ate cold slices of garlic sausage with hot sauerkraut.

Optional: You can also make this in a crock pot.  If you do, add a bit more broth, wine and beer to properly steam all the vegetables.  Or pre steam and place all in crackpot to simmer.  

Ta Da!

Easy right?  You can make it on the stove top or throw it all into a crock pot for later.  Store leftovers in an airtight containers in the fridge.  Easy to reheat in the microwave and makes a great lunch to go.

Our recipe changes with the ingredients we have on hand but almost always has sauerkraut, potatoes, franks, and a mustard relish.  

So there you have it.  Not so much a recipe as a choose-your-own-adventure!  Have fun mixing and matching!

Staple Recipe: Vegetable Couscous

When my husband and I lived in France, vegetable couscous was a staple meal for us.  I loved it for several reasons: it was easy, there was no measuring involved (seriously, who measures flour by weight?!), I could use up vegetables we had on hand and it was delicious!!  Also, I was fascinated with turnips, a vegetable out of fairy tales about farmer's wives in far off countries, that I had never even thought about eating in the US and which I bought every time I saw them in the grocery store in France.  Purple tinted creamy white vegetable?  Yes please!

The best recipe I know for using turnips, and probably the only one, is vegetarian couscous.  I think I was inspired by a meal out at a Moroccan restaurant and tried to reproduce the results at home.  My recipe changed every time and that was okay with me!  There's no real wrong way to do it.  I did some Goggling, compared a bunch or recipes for vegetable couscous, and came up with the flexible formula below:

Ingredients:

Dry Couscous
Any of the following components:

• turnip
• zucchini
• onion
• carrot
• peas
• garbanzo beans
• golden raisins
• butternut squash
• sweet potatoes
• yellow or red bell pepper
• potatoes
• tomatoes
• canned crushed/diced tomatoes
• dried apricots

Any of the following seasonings:

• olive oil
• garlic
• bouillon cube or broth
• salt and pepper
• cinnamon
• turmeric
• coriander or coriander seeds
• tomato paste
• cilantro
• a bay leaf
• ras el hanout (Moroccan spice blend)

Step 1: Make up a batch of couscous and set aside.  Follow directions on the box.  I prefer making it with broth as opposed to water.  If you want, add golden raisins and cinnamon to the couscous before it begins to absorb the water.

Step 2: Prepare the components.  Peel and dice or cut into chunks, all the veggies you want.  One of each is fine, the more vegetables you use, the bigger the batch will be.  Add some dried fruit, peas or garbanzo beans.

Step 3: Cook it.  You can make this one of two ways.  As a hearty soup with plenty of liquid or as an ensemble of vegetables without the juice.  I prefer the latter, my husband the former but do whatever works for you. Couscous is kinda a dry grain and the soupy version may be best if you're unsure which way to go.  Just add water or broth to the vegetables to your desired consistency.  Steam or boil all the vegetables.  Steam the vegetables and combine them with canned or fresh diced tomatoes for a chunky stew or boil them in broth with 2 spoonfuls of tomato paste, give or take, and a bit of olive oil for a brothy soup.

Step 4: Season it.  Season the mixture to taste.  Use whatever you have on hand or like. Start with a small amount and taste it.  You can always add more of the flavor you like best.  After a while of making this dish, you'll get a feel of what you want to add a lot of (like cinnamon) and what you want to use sparingly (liker coriander seeds).

Step 5: Plate it up.  Put a pile of couscous on the plate and use the back of a spoon to spread it out and make a large hole or dip in the center of the couscous.  Ladle a couple scoops of vegetables and broth into the center and serve.

Ta Da!

Easy right?  You can make it on the stove top or throw it all (except for the couscous) into a crock pot for later.  Store leftover vegetable mix and couscous in separate containers in the fridge.  Easy to reheat in the microwave and makes a great lunch to go.

Our recipe changes with the ingredients we have on hand but almost always has cinnamon, golden raisins, turnips and garbanzo beans in a brothy soup with tomato paste.  I also really love the crunch of the coriander seeds and will usually sprinkle them directly into the couscous mixture.

So there you have it.  Not so much a recipe as a choose-your-own-adventure!  Have fun mixing and matching!

Extra Credit:  The appetizer at these restaurants was usual a cold steamed veggie mix.  I have no idea what it was exactly but you can make a simple version by mixing up some extra steamed carrot and potato chunks with some olive oil and a bit of ras el hanout or curry powder.  Sprinkle with fresh cilantro or parsley and serve cold in a small dish with toothpicks before the main dish.