pear-fectly nuts.

Expectation: Making a breathtakingly beautiful but simple cake that looks exactly like the picture.
Reality: Not following directions and adding this and that and getting a cake that looks "okay"

I guess that's an insane thing to think, especially since I din't even follow the directions. I'm just one of those people that looks at a perfectly good recipe and says, "that's good, but what if I . . .". And that, as they say, is that.

But despite the substitutions and everything, the directions were surprisingly a little hard to follow. While it's stated in very simple terms, I'm more of a detailed baker. How much am I supposed to stir it? Do I whisk the dry ingredients together first then add it to the batter? How am I supposed to put the pear on it? Directions like that would've definitely helped.

While the directions did say to peel the pears first, I figured that leaving the skin on would be okay. I should've listened to the directions. Cutting into the cake was a little hard and the skins pulled slices of pears from the top of the cake. Also, I found that one thinly sliced pear was enough for the topping. Where she put the other pear is beyond me.

Regarding sweetness, this was a lightly sweetened cake. I knew that this wasn't going to be sweet enough for me, so I decided to pour some honey on top to not only add sweetness, but also to caramelize the nuts and pears since they didn't seem to be sinking into the batter like it showed in the picture. But again, this was probably the substitutions at work.

When all was said and done, this didn't turn out too bad. I served this with some additional honey, a dusting of powdered sugar, and some sweetened whipped coconut cream. Below is the "next-time-I-make-this" recipe adaptation:

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Pear Walnut Cake
(slightly adapted from Tartelette)

2 large eggs
1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup good quality olive oil
1 cup plain, low-fat or whole milk yogurt
zest and juice of a lemon
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 large pear, peeled and thinly sliced
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup honey, warmed
powdered sugar, for garnish

 
Preheat oven to 350F degrees and line a 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper sprayed with a little cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar for about 2 minutes until light and lemon-colored. Add the olive oil, yogurt, lemon juice and zest and whisk again so that everything is well mixed. Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix just until the batter is smooth. Do not over mix.

Pour the mixture in the prepared baking pan. Place the pear slices on top, slightly diagonal and pressing gently into the cake, then sprinkle with the walnuts. Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out free of crumbs. In the last 20 minutes of baking, drizzle the honey on top of the cake and return to the oven to finish baking.

Let cool completely before slicing and dusting with powdered sugar. Serves 8.

getting a little poppy.

Eating healthy was one of those conscious decisions I had made in my early twenties. I was a little bigger that I had imagined myself to be and my self esteem was at an all-time low. So, rather than wine and feel sorry for myself, I gave myself a little slap and said, "Let's do something about this!". So, I started running, exercising, and making healthier food choices. Eventually I felt better about myself and gained a positive self image.

One thing that really helped was cutting out the carbs and turning pescatarian for a while. Also, on the recommendation of my mother, I also started eating grapefruit in the morning with a bowl of plain oatmeal. Lol, that really sucked for the foodie in me, but eventually I started to really like the tart, sometimes bitter grapefruit.

When I met my husband, I fell off the health wagon. He eats like a man, so I found myself eating like one too. Not that there's anything wrong with that...It's just that his metabolism was faster and could take the fat, carbs, and other junk that my body was't used to consuming. It was like giving in and getting lost in a world of greasy double cheeseburgers and fast food takeout. And because I started to not care, I found myself starting to gain the weight that I had lost.

For me, that was a serious wake up call. Standing on the scale one day and seeing my weight brought in a sense on panic, anger, and depression. But rather than wallow in self-pity, I decided that I was going to do what I did all those years ago...do something about it. So now, going to the gym and eating healthy is part of the daily regiment. Realizing that I'm no longer in my twenties also helps with expectations. This time, It's going to be slow and steady and I'm going to have to work harder for what I want.

With that being said, I'm also going for the more relaxed approach of being healthy. It's choices and portions that I've been concentrating on. Like these grapefruit cupcakes. I think of it as combining my long lost love of grapefruit with my ongoing love affair with sweets. Healthy? Probably not. Even if I added those poppy seeds for "fiber". But since I'm all about portions these days, I thought making them into cupcakes would better suit my needs.

It's easier for me to have one small cupcake and be done with it for the rest of the day than having a loaf of cake sitting on my counter and resisting the urge to have "just another slice" as I walk by. :)

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Grapefruit Yogurt Poppy Seed Cake with Grapefruit Glaze
(adapted from from Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts)

For the Cake:
1½ cups flour
2½ tbsp poppy seeds
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
Zest from 1 grapefruit
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup coconut oil, melted (or vegetable oil)
⅓ cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

For the Glaze:
2 Tbls freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
Approx 1 cup powdered sugar

 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8½ x 4½ inch loaf pan (or line a couple of cupcake pans with liners). Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together yogurt, sugar, eggs, zest, vanilla, coconut oil and grapefruit juice. Slowly add flour mixture, stirring until just combined.

Pour into prepared pan, and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a tester comes out clean (18-20 minutes for cupcakes). Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

To prepare glaze mix together juice and sugar until desired consistency. Add more sugar if necessary. Once the cake has cooled, remove from pan, and top with glaze.

it's all greek to me.

Today was a hectic grocery day. I don't know why I didn't do it on Sunday, but I found myself wandering the island and getting things for next week's lunches and dinners. So not only did I get the groceries, I did a ton of prep today as well. Man... Am I pooped.

With that being said, I still wanted to make something that took *some* effort (even though I was starting to run on fumes) despite the busy day I've had. So I went on my pinterest board and looked for inspiration. I don't know what made me look for "Greek", but when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it. And being an over-achiever that I am, I decided to make some mash and veggies to go with it.

The first problem that I ran into was not having any Greek seasoning. Another quick looksie through pinterest and I found this spice mix which looked interesting (with the added bonus that I had everything listed in my pantry). After tasting a bit of it, I was really blown away! Herby a little salty, I knew this was a killer spice mix! I made sure to save the recipe in my files so I can make it again when I run out in the future.

With the main problem out of the way, everything went surprisingly smooth and with very little effort than I anticipated. Of course, it definitely helped that I went grocery shopping earlier today...I just so happened to get all the ingredients that I needed for the recipes I chose. Yay for happy happenstance!

With regard to the actual meal, I thought that it all went well together. Loved the mash and also the veggies. The chicken was so-and-so... I'm thinking that I went overboard on the yogurt (I halved the recipe) and it didn't cook that way it was intended because I used skinless boneless thighs. I may do this recipe again, but with no lemon juice (just zest) and just enough yogurt to coat the chicken...

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Greek Seasoning Blend
(from AllRecipes.com)

2 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried Greek oregano
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried rosemary, minced
1 tsp dried dill weed
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp ground thyme
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Mix salt, garlic powder, basil, oregano, cinnamon, black pepper, parsley, rosemary, dill, marjoram, cornstarch, thyme, and nutmeg in a bowl. Store in an airtight container. Alternately, blend spices in a spice grinder for a finer texture.

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Greek Marinated Chicken
(from Budget Bytes)

1 cup plain yogurt
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ tbsp dried oregano
1 medium lemon
½ tsp salt
freshly cracked pepper
¼ bunch fresh parsley
3½ to 4 lbs chicken pieces

To make the marinade, combine the yogurt, olive oil, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper in a bowl. Use a fine holed cheese grater or a zester to scrape the thin layer of yellow zest from the lemon skin into the bowl. Also add the juice from half of the lemon (about 1-2 Tbsp). Stir until the ingredients are well combined. Roughly chop a big handful, or about ¼ bunch, of parsley and stir it into the marinade.

Add the chicken pieces and marinade to a gallon sized zip top bag. Remove as much air as possible, close the bag tightly, and massage the bag to mix the contents and make sure the chicken is well coated. Refrigerate the bag for 30 minutes. After marinating for 30 minutes, either cook the chicken on a grill OR preheat the oven to 375 degrees in preparation to bake the chicken.

To bake the chicken, place the chicken pieces in a large casserole dish (9x13). Bake the chicken in the preheated 375 degree oven for 45-60 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

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Feta and Herb Mashed Potatoes
(from Katie's Cucina)

6 medium white potatoes, peeled
1 tbsp salt
1/4 cup each fresh parsley, dill, and sliced green onions
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup salted butter
1/4 tsp black pepper
*3 tbsp milk if needed

Peel, chop, and rinse potatoes. Fill water to just above the potatoes and add 1 tbsp salt. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft enough to fall apart when a knife is inserted in them.

Drain potatoes, and add 1/4 cup butter to the pot the potatoes were boiling in. Add the potatoes back to the pot then add fresh parsley, dill, and green onions followed by feta cheese. Place a lid on top of the potatoes and let them sit for 5 minutes.

Add black pepper to the potatoes and mash using a hand-mixer. Add milk if needed (one tablespoon at a time or until moist). Top with more fresh herbs and butter and serve immediately.

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Easy Mediterranean Vegetables
(from She Wears Many Hats)

2 tbsp + 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 medium zucchini, cut in eighths lengthwise, then halved crosswise (about 3 inches long)
1 medium yellow onion, cut into ¼-inch wide strips
1 small red bell pepper, cut into ¼-inch wide strips
2 tsp greek seasonings
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
¼ tsp garlic salt
¼ tsp sugar

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large grill-safe skillet and place on hot grill (or stove-top over medium-high heat) until hot. Add zucchini, onion and bell pepper; cook and stir 6 minutes or until browned on edges.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil plus remaining ingredients.

Remove skillet from heat. Add seasoning mixture to cooked vegetables; toss gently to coat.