French Yogurt Cake With Jammy Glaze

A twist on pound cake made with yogurt and glazed with jam or marmalade when baked. Serve with extra jam and yogurt. 

So, I bought another memoir/recipe book on Amazon.  (One-click , oh, One-click, you are trouble.)  You’ve possibly all heard of it:  Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life, born of her wonderful blog, Orangette.

 

Most touching was Italian Grotto Eggs: A simple recipe for the breakfast she served her father as he lay dying in their home, with Hospice care.  The book is dedicated to her father and she shares about him here on her blog. 

Once again, so many recipes bookmarked!  I haven't made anything sweet in a while so we will start with cake.  I liked the idea of the French Yogurt Cake but Molly mentions the original recipe calling for measurements made with the actual yogurt pot in France.  She had translated the measurements into cups for the US market in her book.  You know I had to find the original recipe.  Oh, my goodness, but there are hundreds on the internet!  I ended piecing together several to come up with this.  Moist and beautiful, it tastes oddly buttery, for something that has no butter.

Ingredients

1 cup or 125g all-purpose flour

50g or nearly 1/2 cup ground almonds

2 teaspoons baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 cup or 225g sugar

1 large lemon for zesting

A little less than 1/2 cup or 110g pot plain whole milk yogurt

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup or 120ml canola oil

1/4-1/3 cup or 75-90g citrus marmalade or other tangy jam for topping

Extra yogurt and marmalade for serving (optional)

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and line a bread pan with baking parchment.  (Or butter it liberally.  I just think the parchment is easier.)

Mix your dry ingredients together: the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt, in one bowl.

Zest your lemon into your actual mixing bowl and then add in the sugar.  Mix the zest and the sugar together thoroughly with a fork.

Add the yogurt, eggs and vanilla to the bowl and whisk vigorously or use the K-beater in your electric mixer until it is very well blended. 

Beat or whisk in the dry ingredients, then add in the oil gradually, at a very low speed.

Pour the batter into the pan and drop the pan a couple of times onto your countertop from a few inches high to get rid of the big air bubbles in the batter.

Slide the baking pan into the oven and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the cake begins to come away from the sides of the pan. 

While the cake is still hot and in the pan, put your marmalade or jam on top and, as it warms, spread it around.  (I used some jam I made from our own Japanese plum tree last week.  Isn't the color incredible?  All natural, just fruit and sugar!)

Serve it plain or with a spoon of slightly sweetened yogurt and another spoon of marmalade or jam.

Oh, and let your helper lick out the yogurt pot!  He's been so patient.

Enjoy!

How to Make Easy Meatballs à la Jamie Oliver

Got sausage? Make meatballs easily!
I love meatballs in sauce but who has time to mix and roll the meat? I learned this method of how to make easy meatballs on an old Jamie Oliver show that I can't seem to find a clip of for you, so this is my quick take, with an updated video. If you've been reading along here, you know I'm in Dubai now, but I didn't have the heart to delete my old introduction. It's part of my journey.

 

Last summer when I was in Houston and feeling pretty smug about farmers’ markets and pastured meat and eggs, I made meatballs and spaghetti for my aged grandmother. Because she loves it. Here I am in Cairo and I have been the worst of the worst type of modern shopper. I came back from a visit to the States, to Providence, with almost 42 pounds of pork in my suitcases. Not only were they not sourced locally, clearly, I am also pretty sure that they were not from pastured pigs, seeing as how I bought them at a Super Walmart.

Philosophically speaking, there is no justifying such excess. Emotionally speaking, I am feeling deprived in Cairo. Of close friends, a school connection, normal day-to-day activities, driving my own car, imported (read: good) wine at the grocery store and pork. Among other things. Self pity: It’s how I justify hauling pork products across international borders.

And cooking them is how I make myself feel better when I am headed towards down. There is nothing quite like a bowl of pasta and meatballs in a rich tomato sauce to cheer a person up. Don’t you agree? Unless it is a simmering pot of rich tomato sauce bubbling on the stove and filling the whole house with spicy Italian aromas. This recipe fills the need on both counts.

(On the other hand, all of my vegetables, beef and chicken are locally sourced. And I do believe most of the fish is too. My Carrefour doesn’t really sell many imported things in the fresh departments so choices and prices are seasonal. Just two examples: I haven’t seen a single non-frozen corn on the cob since I moved here. And I am sorely missing rhubarb, which must not be grown here, even in the spring. I am guessing because we never have a freeze in winter. )

This method of meatballing (though not the sauce) comes straight from Jamie Oliver and, if you have access to fresh sausage in casing, is the fastest, easiest method of making meatballs that I have ever witnessed. You know how you see something on TV or in a magazine (or Pinterest!) and you say, “Now, why didn’t I think of that?!!” Exactly my reaction when I watched Jamie make these meatballs for the first time, back in 2008.

Ingredients
1 1/4 lbs or about 565g fresh sausage – I like spicy Italian sausage.
Olive oil
1 small onion
2-3 cloves garlic
1 can (14 oz or 400g) finely chopped or crushed tomatoes
1 small can (6 oz or 165g) tomato paste – the really thick stuff, not sauce
1 heaped tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon sugar
1 bay leaf
12 oz or 340g pasta of your choice
Parmesan for serving (optional)

Method
Pinch off little pieces of sausage from the casing and pop them in a non-stick skillet. (I tried to find a clip from the Jamie show with him doing it but to no avail. So you are stuck with me.) I pinched off small pieces and finished with 42 bite-sized meatballs. Yes. I counted them before they went in the sauce. (Forty in the pan plus the two I had already eaten.)

Fry them until browned nicely on all sides, shaking the pan occasionally to turn them.




Wasn't that quick? Meatballs in minutes. When your meatballs are cooked, you can drain them on some paper towels or do it my way: Tilt the skillet and push the meatballs up the slope so the grease can collect in one side of the skillet. This saves paper towels, possible clean up of one more dish and one step in the sauce process.



(At this point, your meatballs are finished and would be great as appetizers with a toothpick and dipping sauce. Or made into Swedish meatballs or added to an Italian Wedding Soup or whatever your heart desires. Or you carry on and make the tomato sauce I love.)

Still with me? Okay! Chop your onions and garlic. Sauté them in a drizzle of olive oil, until they are soft and translucent.

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Add in the can of crushed tomatoes and one can of water.



Add in the can of tomato paste and one can of water. Stir really well until the tomato paste is completely dissolved into the sauce.



Now, add the sugar, oregano and bay leaf. Bring to the boil and then turn down to a simmer.



Add in the cooked meatballs and then simmer the sauce with a lid on, for at least 30 minutes but for as long as an hour or two, if you have the time. My motto for tomato sauce is the longer the better. Give it a stir and check the level periodically, adding some water, if necessary, to keep it at a thickness and consistency you like.



Be careful here so your meatballs don't end up back in the grease.



When you are ready to serve, cook your pasta according to package instructions. With a side vegetable, this should serve four people. Just don’t let your sauce cook down too much or the pasta could be dry.



Top the pasta with sauce and count your meatballs out fairly among the plates. We also add a generous fresh grating of Parmesan. (Not pictured.)



With whole wheat penne! Enjoy!

Spicy Chorizo with Chickpeas on Toast

Spicy chorizo with chickpeas on toast makes a fabulous breakfast or even a weekday dinner, served with a side salad, in which case, serve with a glass of white or red wine.

If you are an expat in any location, there are always things you 1. Bring from home or 2. Stockpile when the stores do have them.  When the item is medication, you take it when you need to.  When the item is food, that decision is more difficult.  Do you save it as a treat or for a special occasion or do you use it whenever, until it’s gone?  I tend to err on the side of hoarding.

But as we moved from KL to Cairo a few months back, I realized that I had a lot of stuff in my freezer (just staying fresh) that had been there way too long and was well past its expiration date.  By hoarding, I deprived us of special treats (what was I saving it for?!) and I ended up having to waste food that would not be kept refrigerated in a shipment or give it away.  I vowed that I would be better about using up my stockpiles and try not to hoard. 

 
To that end, here is a great recipe using the spicy chorizo my sweetie brought me from Italy recently.  We enjoyed it for breakfast yesterday morning. 

 
Ingredients

1 link of chorizo, about 350g or 12 oz

2 medium onions

4 cloves garlic

2 red chili peppers

1 14 oz or 396g can chickpeas

1 14 oz or 396g can whole peeled tomatoes

Part of loaf of lovely crusty bread

Butter to spread 

Method  
If your chorizo has an inedible casing, remove it completely. (Some do, some don't)

Slice the chorizo and put it in a pot with a lid.  Turn the heat down low and let the fat render out.

 

Meanwhile, chop your garlic, onions and chili peppers. 

 

Once the chorizo pot has some rendered oil on the bottom, pour in the garlic, onions and chilis, and, still on a low fire, sauté for about 10 minutes or until they are softened.

 

Rinse the chickpeas. 

 

Using a sharp knife (or kitchen scissors) cut the tomatoes into small pieces, inside the can.

 

Add the chickpeas and the tomatoes to the pot.  Add another half a tomato can of water to the pot as well.  Give it all a good stir and put the lid back on.  

 

Cook for 15-20 minutes to allow the flavors to meld, stirring occasionally.
When the mixture is almost ready, cut nice slices out of your crusty bread and toast them.  Spread generously with butter.  

 

Heap the chickpea/chorizo mixture on the buttered toast.   Can’t tell you how awesome this was! 

 

Enjoy! By the way, what do you stockpile?  Tell me I'm not the only one.

Update: And here’s what I made with the leftovers this morning.  I warmed the chickpea mixture and nestled in the eggs as I did in this recipe.

  Yum.