Recipe #75... French Yogurt Cake & Strawberry-Lemon Sauce... Oooh La La

Before having my daughter, I read the book "Bringing Up Bebe," by Pamela Druckerman.  It's a pleasant and enjoyable read about one mother's inquiries into french parenting.  She seeks to discover why french children seem so well behaved and french parents so chic and pulled together.  The yogurt cake is a recipe that children make with their mothers for an afternoon snack.  Nearly the whole recipe can be measured using a single yogurt cup - I have been making this without the help of little hands and am looking forward to sharing the kitchen with Emilia soon.  While I can't guarantee that your chic-meter will raise considerably or that your child will exercise greater wisdom and self control after serving up this dessert, I can tell you that you should prepare to feel very fancy... I have been using the Bon Appetit French Yogurt Cake Recipe and have detailed it below.  Voila! 

French Yogurt Cake & Strawberry-Lemon Sauce
Add the following to your mixer of choice...
Makes 10 Servings

Strawberry-Lemon Sauce 
1 Container Fresh Strawberries
1 Tbsp Sugar
Juice from 1/2 a Lemon

Slice strawberries and coat with sugar and lemon juice.  Blend until you achieve the consistency you prefer... smooth or chunks of strawberries... or don't blend at all

French Yogurt Cake
Nonstick Vegetable Oil Spray
1 1/2 c All-purpose Flour (Or a Fave Flour Combo)
2 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 tsp Salt
1/2 c Sugar
1 Tbsp Lemon Zest
3/4 c Whole-Milk Greek Yogurt (I love Greek Gods Honey)
1/2 c Vegetable Oil
2 Large Eggs
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 350.  Coat loaf pan or round cake pan with sprat.  

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl.  Add sugar-coated lemon zest, yogurt, oil, eggs, and vanilla and whisk to blend.  Pour batter into pan and smooth top.  Bake 45-50 mins, until top is golden brown and tester comes out clean.  Cool completely.  

Drizzle cake slices with sauce before serving and add a dollop or whip cream for some extra fancy.  Bon Appetit! -A

Recipe #72... Tummy Trouble Tonic... For all Ages

Note: My little one is dealing with some tummy bumpers.  It hurts my heart.  Emilia is rarely sick, so when she is we are both derailed a bit.  Tummy troubles are minor but still no fun... especially when your diet is limited to the excitingly (j/k) bland BRAT (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) diet.  So I decided to fix a BRAT-inspired smoothie to literally mix it up and help her stay hydrated.  
  

Nearly Empty... Sweet Success!

Tummy Trouble Tonic
Add the following to your mixer of choice...
Makes 2 sip cup servings

3/4 c Coconut Water (hydration)
1/2 c Plain Greek Yogurt (protein and probiotics)
1 Fresh Strawberry (for taste)
1 Banana (the "B" in BRAT)
1 Small Handful of Ice (Our little one prefers less frozen flavor) 

When you are 13 mos old, a flexi straw and cup are more of a toy than method of sustenance intake - based on our recent experience.  More smoothie decorates the floor than remedies a bumping belly.  I found a Nuby sip cup with a straw perfect for her smoothies (in sickness and in health).  Blend your smoothie extra smooth to fit through the sip cup straw.  I hope you don't need this recipe anytime soon...  -A