A cake to call her own | Yogurt Cake (gâteau au yaourt)

Reading Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting.. I came across this recipe for children.  Gâteau au Yaourt (Yogurt Cake) French children age 2-3ish that bake this cake made of yogurt using the yogurt cups as measuring.  

Well, Miss Scarlett turned 4 this week and I thought, we better do this already!  I mean she bakes with me all the time since very very young but never this recipe and something of her "own".  Anyway, it was fun.  I set up her table with the bowls and measuring and recipe and stood back and let her at it.  She opened the containers and measured the spoons and cups.  (The measuring doesn't have to be exact and it still will come out fine.)  So, no micro-managing.. just help and let them do it.  It was fun, she loved it and I highly recommend it.  The cake is delish, not too sweet and we added some frozen berries, her choice... huckleberries that I had picked in the fall.. and it is quite lovely with coffee in the morning, super moist.  Coffee, being for mama.  This is a good basic cake recipe I will keep in my repertoire . kids or not, definitely easy and worth making. 

Note:  The original recipe did not have vanilla extract or berries.. but we love both and are glad we added them!  I also opted for a healthy coconut oil and organic ingredients. If you choose chocolate over berries, I would decrease sugar to 3/4 cup. (we made it with the berries and used only 3/4 cup of sugar.. but I don't like sweet sweets and cut back where I can)

The original recipe uses the yogurt cups as measuring.. but we buy our yogurt in large containers, so that didn't work for us.. we just used measuring cups, which was fine for her.  I included the recipe both ways.  

Also, when pre-heating the oven, I place the glass jar or container of solid coconut oil in and carefully remove after a few minutes when melted.  This was the one step Scarlett wasn't able to do (duh).. pour the warm oil or mix it in.  And of course, she did not go near the oven.  (double duh)  On that note... You could always use a different oil that doesn't need to be warmed and the child could handle.  Again, this recipe is a great basic one that can be altered and changed to suit your needs.  Have fun and let your little one!    

French Yogurt Cake for Bébé

(2) 8oz containers of greek yogurt (plain)

2 eggs

(1) yogurt container of sugar (or 1 cup) or less :)

1/3 c. coconut oil, warmed and liquid

1 t. vanilla extract

(2) yogurt containers of flour (or 2 cups)

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. sea salt

(1) yogurt container of frozen berries or chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 375º 

Coat a 9" round or loaf pan with cooking spray. (We chose a heart shape)

In a large bowl combine yogurt, eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla.  In another bowl, whisk together  dry ingredients.  

Add dry ingredients to egg mixture, stir til just combined.. DON'T overmix, it doesn't need to be smooth.. is actually better if lumpy and barely mixed. 

Stir in frozen berries of choice or chocolate chips.

Bake 35-45min. until golden and a tester comes out clean and cake is set.  Cool 10 min. in pan and then turn out onto rack and cool completely. 

 So proud!

Strawberry Almond Oatmeal Bars

Love the pioneer woman, Ree Drummond and her blog.  Any city girl who marries a rancher, moves to the country, raises kids and writes a blog about the food she cooks... could almost qualify to be a bestie to this city girl who is in the country at the foothills of Mt. Rainer, raising a daughter and blogs about life.  Hmmm.    Well, if you haven't checked our her blog already, I highly recommend it.  She not only makes good food, but her photos and writing are really enjoyable.   
Now, while I love her recipes.. there are few that I make without altering to bring to the healthier side.  No offense to her, I mostly do that to all recipes I encounter.  Her Strawberry Oatmeal Bars are very good and that is where this recipe is inspired from.  Her recipe the bars come out way too sweet and salty.   I have added almond meal to the bars and have switched to healthier options where I could.  These are very dessert-y but I guess good for breakfast if you like sweets in the morning.  I think my mom would really like these.  I have cut the sugar, but if you like them more for a dessert bar.. you can increase the brown sugar up to 1 cup.   

Strawberry Almond Oatmeal Bars

• 1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter, room temp and cut into pieces, plus more for greasing pan
• 1 cup whole wheat white flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal (buy usually in bulk area, or Bob's Red Mills but can easily be made by coarsing whole almonds into a flour in the food processor.  Careful not to over process or you will end up with almond butter!)
• 1 1/2 cup whole oats, not instant
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• One 10 ounce jar strawberry preserves 

Pre-heat oven to 350º   Place strawberry preserves (if in glass jar, if not in an oven proof glass dish) in warming oven for a minute or two to loosen up for easy spreading.  

Meanwhile butter a 9 x13 baking dish (or a jelly roll pan lined with parchment paper works well, too).   

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, almond meal, oats, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Add butter and using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut butter into flour mixture til crumbly and pea size.  

Press half of flour/oat mixture evenly into the bottom of baking dish.  Pour preserves over evenly, spreading with offset spatula. Pour the rest of the flour/oat mixture over the strawberry layer and pat gently and evenly.

Bake 35-40 minutes, until golden brown.  Cool completely(!)  ..Especially if you want to pick them up like a bar.  If not they are scrumptious warm and probably really excellent with some vanilla ice cream!  

Cut into squares and serve. 

Gotta love a one bowl recipe.

 cutting in the room temp. butter

 this pastry blender works really well for this task

 first layer pressed into bottom of dish 

 layer of jam and then sprinkle the rest of the oat mixture on

 press the top layer gently into the jam and ready to bake

 35 minutes til golden brown

 simple, simple, simple and so ridiculously good.

Make Ahead Baked Mini Frittatas

Easy, portable, freezable.. yummy, hearty breakfast in a minute.  I love a quiche, frittata or strata but don't necessarily have the time to create and bake, when I want to eat one in the morning.  Made ahead in muffin cups, the outcome is great and they freeze well.  Letting you have almost instant, hearty.. savory breakfast without preservatives or nasties.  Pop them in the toaster oven for  a couple minutes.. easy peasy! 

Step #1

Fill muffin cups that have been greased lightly with  
2 slices of cooked potato
1 or 2 broccoli florets
saute´d onion & peppers
2 slices of zucchini
(or any veggie of your choice)

Step #2

Top with a couple crumbles of sausage (or bacon) 
a little shredded cheddar  

Step #3

In a large bowl, whisk together 
8 eggs
1.5 cups half and half (or heavy cream)
S + P
grating of fresh nutmeg

Step #4

Fill cups up pretty much to the top

Step #5

Bake at 375°F  for 25-30min. til puffed and egg is set, not liquid.

(Egg cups will puff up and then settle down)

Irish Pub

Love me an Irish Pub... happened upon this one tonight and it was quite nice.  Live music, warm atmosphere and really, really good Irish soda bread.  Seriously the bread was worth going for.. dense and perfectly moist, not too sweet.. so good and only $1 for 2 whole slices.  I would have bought a loaf, if it were for sale.  So, having that.. now I am on the search for a good soda bread recipe...  which in turn, means attempting quite a few recipes, in pursuit of one that is this good.  

Paddy Coyne's Irish Pub in Tacoma, Wa  Lovely live irish music, as such on Sunday and Wed nights.  There were 2 violins, guitar, mandoline, 2 different flutes.. one wood, drum bodhran (Irish) and 2 people sang.. which was quite beautiful.  

rudolf the red nosed easy gift

Saw this idea on the lovely pinterest and easily recreated with my 3 year old for gifts to give.  Easy, inexpensive and she had fun making them.   A little tape, a little white glue, googly eyes and red pom-pom noses.. we happened to have all these components and you probably do too!  XL chocolate bars or I am sure regular size would do, I just happened to get these on sale.    

 Will definitely try these snowmen or these santas.   Dontcha just love pinterest? 

Find: Vintage Costume Jewelry Tree

How much do I adore this?  Let me tell you the ways.  This has to be one of my favorite things I have seen in quite a while.  My friend Roseanna has 3 of these that she has found antique-ing about and hangs them above her mantle, lit up no less. The photos do not do them justice... they sparkle and twinkle and steal the evergreen's spotlight. They are fabulous.  The more you look at them the more you see.. a seahorse, a vase, a lamp, fleur de lis.. keep staring (try to stop drooling) and you will see something else. 

I do not own one of these.. but now I have something new to dream about and search for at the antique shops.  

Or possibly, get crafty on my own and create one out of the mass amounts of costume jewelry that I collect that does not get worn.  Maybe, one day.  We'll see.   

Until then, I will look even more forward to Christmas when she pulls them out again. 

lighting it up.. simply poke twinkle lights like shown thru the back.. (then hide the cord!)

What's for lunch: Chicken Salad

Love chicken salad.  Favorite sandwich from my favorite sandwich place back home is a Chicken Salad with avocado and alfalfa sprouts on pumpernickel swirl bread.  The Cheeseboard in Linwood is so good at making sandwiches, however while waiting in line I  say I am going to order something different.. then I usually order this when it's my turn.  It's so yum.  
Well, Scarlett loves chicken salad, too.  And I thought I'd share how we make ours.  Nothing special.. just lots of added veggies.  When incorporated, there are no complaints and she usually gobbles up the whole sandwich.

Chicken Salad our way

1-2 cups of leftover, cooked chicken, chopped or shredded small
Spoonful (about 1/4 cup) of vegenaise (we love the soy-free variety) or mayo (olive oil is so good, have you tried it?)
1-2 T. sour cream (opt.)
1 radish, finely chopped
1 inner rib of celery, finely chopped
1 carrot, shredded
sweet onion, finely chopped.. (the amount depends on your taste & child & how much bite the onion has)
S+P to taste
chopped fresh parsley (opt.)

Combine all, adding more mayo when needed.  You can always add more but you can't take it out!

We love it scooped into a pita pocket with crisp romaine, shredded and smooshed avocado.  Crunchy, creamy.. so good.  

Serve with cucumber slices and that is a favorite, healthy lunch!

Baked Caramel Corn

Growing up at the Jersey Shore, one of my favorite things was the boardwalk.  And one of my favorite things on the boardwalk, well, besides all the boys.. was Johnson's Popcorn.   It is iconic of the Ocean City boardwalk in the summer.. the smell and the batches being made in the large copper kettles. So delicious.  The popcorn was sold in large tubs which they would pile high and hand you the lid and off you'd go walking the boards while munching on the fresh caramel corn.  Still slightly warm, yet very crunchy and never moist.  
I got this recipe when I was in the 7th grade and although it's not made in copper drum kettles.. it comes out as close as I remember.  Finished off slowly in the oven, it  comes out perfectly dry & crunchy.  
So, why am I posting a summer treat in the beginning of December, you ask?  Well, it makes the perfect gift.  So easy to make and doesn't break the bank with ingredients... and you will see the rave results.   I touted this as the best recipe to a girlfriend who's guilty pleasure is kettle corn and clearly, I could see the doubt.  Then she tasted it and said it truly was the best she had.  I know. 

This recipe can be easily doubled for gift giving.. I used a pyrex glass dish and 2 white corning dishes that could sit side by side in the oven.  You just want to make sure it fits your oven but the bake time might be longer.  It will be warm but pretty much dry when it's done.  So add time according to your baking dishes, if you double the recipe. I can't do more than 1.5xs in my oven here. 
Not usual for me or my blog... this recipe is not healthy at all and I am not going to apologize and I am not going to try and remix this to a healthy version.  As I see it, this is a treat!..  Not a daily snack!  rich, indulgent and delicious.  So, relax and enjoy a bit, your friends will be glad!

BAKED CARAMEL CORN

1 c. butter
2 c. dark brown sugar
1/2 c. corn syrup
1 t. sea salt

6 qt. popcorn, popped 
1 T. coconut oil (optional)*  

1/2 t. baking soda
1.5 t. vanilla extract

Sea Salt

Pre-heat oven to 250º  
Place popped corn in large bowl.   *optional:  Drizzle and toss with 1T. of warmed coconut oil.  Set aside.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat.  Bring heat up and stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt.  Bring to boil and stir constantly for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, stir in baking soda and vanilla. 
Pour over popped corn, very carefully mix well.  
Turn into 2 large, shallow baking pans.  Bake for 1 hour.. stirring every 15 minutes.  If your dish isn't shallow enough.. this might take longer.  
Optional at this point but adds to deliciousness...When hot out of the oven, give a little sprinkle of sea salt, to taste. Not to much, enough for sweet & salty yumminess. 
Let cool completely.  Break apart and store in air-tight container.  

air popped & then tossed with warm coconut oil. Smells so good!

(the largest bowl I could find; holds about 9-10 qts of popcorn)

gooey sugar mixture poured in, using 2 wooden spoons to mix it up

a batch & 1/2 needs 1 large pyrex and 2 corning dishes to bake

Mountain Aire Mercantile

I love living in this small country town at the foothills of Crystal Mountain and Mt. Ranier.  Everytime I say "mountain", Scarlett corrects me and says "volcano, mama, volcano."  Which is true and also gives me a clue she is watching way too much Dora the Explorer.  Did I mention, I can't stand that show.  I am sure I have before.    

Anyway, if I had a store.. it would be very much like this one that opened up last July.  Mountain Aire Mercantile, a Natural Goods and Espresso shop.  Great selection of thoughtful and responsible products.   

These are some images of the store from 1939 which the site says were inspiration for the store today. Love that.  I highly recommend it as a Christmas shopping stop, while in this little town...  for gifts or a coffee and a bite to eat.

from their website www.mountainairemercantile.com

"Mountain Aire Mercantile believes in celebrating the region through food and community by providing local, natural ingredients, as well as exceptional products from around the world, and good old-fashioned personal attention.It's an answer to "Why don't they make things like they used to?" Mountain Aire Mercantile wants you to know that they do. Good Things, NaturallyCome enjoy our coffee house and natural foods grocery store today!"