Manila Spoon

Jan 22, 2013

Spiced Applesauce Cake

I love to experiment on making bread and cakes that are low-fat and yet without having to sacrifice on taste. Sometimes, low-fat baked products can be like that - low-fat, yes, but tasteless, too or overly sweet to compensate for the lack of fat. Surely, there must be a way where you can still produce a lighter version of a bread or cake but without having to miss its delicious taste. I know it's possible because I have one recipe that has no oil or butter in it and yet still comes out as amazingly delicious - my Apple Praline Bread. Proof? It's the second most popular recipe in Manila Spoon and those who have made it have given me great feedback that they simply loved it!

With this in mind, instead of using fresh apples I decided to try using Applesauce (saves me time as well in chopping and peeling apples especially if I use the store-bought one!) paired with Greek yogurt to add flavor and moisture to the cake. To add more texture, extra crunch and nuttiness - I also added some chopped walnuts to the mix and to make it even better have thrown in some raisins for good measure. Of course, I don't want to fail to mention that all the lovely spices added also give the cake another flavor dimension that shines but does not overpower. I was happy with the overall result. It was moist and flavorful (and the nuts and raisins really worked well!).

Now, if you want a more cake-like texture, feel free to use butter or oil instead of the yogurt. But if it's a healthier and lower-fat version that you like then the Greek yogurt addition is for you! I love this with tea and I think it's great as well paired with your early morning coffee.

Can you see all the lovely nuts and raisins above? I think these make the cake really tasty! Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup unsweetened Applesauce
1/2 cup greek yogurt (regular or low-fat version)*
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed (add an extra 1/8-1/4 cup if you want it really sweet)
1 tsp Vanilla extract (optional)
3/4 cup or 3oz chopped walnuts
1/2-3/4 cup raisins
Confectioners' (icing) sugar for dusting

*If you prefer the regular cake version, you can use 1/2 cup butter (softened or room temp) instead of the yogurt.

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a round cake pan with a non-stick spray. You may also use a loaf pan if you prefer.

Whisk or sift together all the dry ingredients (flour, leavening agents, spices and salt). Set aside.

Using medium speed on an electric mixer, beat together the eggs, applesauce and yogurt until well combined. Add the brown sugar and vanilla extract (if using) and continue to beat just until everything is mixed well.

If opting to use butter instead, beat together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Add the applesauce, yogurt and vanilla extract (if using) and continue to beat just until it's incorporated.

Turn speed to low and carefully add in the dry ingredients. Scrape the sides with a spatula as you add the flour. Beat just until combined. Do not overbeat. Stop the mixer. Fold in the walnuts and raisins.

Pour the batter into a round cake pan or a loaf pan. Bake for about 40-45 mins (in a round cake pan - probably 50 minutes or so in a loaf pan) or until a tester comes out clean or with only a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool for about 20 minutes in the pan. Transfer to a serving plate and dust with icing sugar, if desired. I love having a slice while it's still warm and with a cup of tea. If you're not watching calories - serve warm with some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on top! Delish!

It will keep for a few days provided you store it in a tightly closed container or tupperware so it doesn't dry out. Have a slice with your favorite tea or coffee and it's wonderful with some butter spread on it, too!

If you wish to print the recipe, there's a print-friendly icon at the end of the post. Click on the "remove images box" for easy printing.

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Boerewors with Scrambled Eggs, Caramelized Onions and Tomatoes

We lived in South Africa for about six months back in 2007. We have fallen in love not only with the amazing sights of this wonderfully picturesque country but also it's food, glorious food! The variety of food that we got to sample there are just plentiful and truly flavorful. Now when you say South African Food - one truly stands out - the ever-famous Boerewors. The word Boer in Afrikaan means - farmer and Wors - mean sausage so taken together it literally means Farmer's Sausage. Ask any South African and they will smile from ear to ear if you ask them about Boerewors! We got in on the bandwagon once we tasted it and - oh what a lovely sausage it really is. I would say truly one of the best in the world!

This is what Boerwors typically look like and the jars behind are the

usual condiments you may have with it.

We really missed it so much when we came back to Holland, MI and thought we'll never get to try it again until our next visit to SA. But, lo and behold, what a surprise - our own little butcher shop actually makes very authentic Boerewors. You're probably wondering how this beautiful sausage made its way to a tiny town in the Midwest. Of course, we asked our butcher, when we found a package of Boerewors sitting on his freezer aisle, how he managed to get hold of the recipe for Boerewors and here's the story.

Apparently, there's a South African couple that has now made Holland, MI their home. And being true South Africans - they cannot live without their Boerewors so off they went to the butcher's shop and offered their recipe (a very closely guarded secret for everyone in SA try to claim that theirs is better than everyone else's!). They'd rather give out their secret recipe away than not ever taste Boerewors ever again! The butcher at the urging (let's say begging...) from this South African couple gave in and said, ok I'll give it a try. To make the long story short, these Boerewors have now become a staple in their store and is always one of the top-sellers during summer time. It was a great and pretty authentic recipe for it tastes exactly the same as the ones we have tried in South Africa. Now we are as happy as that South African couple (who unfortunately, we haven't even met in person...) for we can enjoy our Boerewors anytime we want to have them!

While Boerewors are perfect for grilling and wonderful sandwiched in a hotdog bun complete with all the condiments, sometimes, I like to have it for breakfast too. I cook it and then combine it with some caramelized onions and grape tomatoes all mixed up together in one delicious scramble. If you cannot find boerewors, have no fear, I am sure you can try this recipe with your favorite breakfast sausage or links too! Enjoy!

Ingredients

Olive Oil (for cooking the sausages and onion)
1 lb South African Boerewors (or your favorite breakfast Sausage), chopped diagonally
1 medium to large onion, thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons, butter
5 eggs
1/2 - 1 cup grape tomatoes - really small ones (however much you want)
Salt and Pepper

Procedure

In a frying pan, heat a little olive oil. Cook the Boerwors until they are nicely browned. Set aside and keep warm.

Clean the pan or at least scrape off the bits and pieces from the sausage. Add another tablespoon of oil and the butter. Let the butter melt. Once melted, add the chopped onions and cook until they are tender and slightly brown and caramelized.

While the onions are cooking, break 5 eggs and place them in a bowl. Whisk the eggs to combine. Add 1-2 tablespoons of water to the eggs. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Get another large frying pan (other than the one previously used) and add a little more oil. Use medium-high heat and wait until you almost reach the smoking point. The key to a perfect and fluffy scramble is high heat. Once the pan is hot enough, pour in the eggs. You know that your heat is just right when the eggs sizzle immediately upon contact. Let it set a little (just a few seconds) and then add in all the rest of the ingredients (sausages, onions and grape tomatoes). Stir and cook to your desired doneness. This doesn't take very long.

Serve immediately and with rice (at least that's what I'll recommend!), if possible! Enjoy a delicious breakfast!

Broccoli Soup

We're having a good winter here in Michigan so far. There hasn't been much snow yet and it's been quite sunny and that's always a good thing. Sometimes we have days were the sun never shows its face so sunny days in winter are always welcome! It's still pretty cold though and despite the sun you still need layers of clothing when you go out and that also means you need a hot and hearty bowl of soup to warm you up.

So finally I decided to make a new soup. I wanted something healthy that doesn't rely on milk or cream to make it creamier or taste better. When it comes to broccoli soup the only ones I have tried are the cheesy ones and I do love them for sure but sometimes when there's too much dairy added you almost lose the broccoli taste. Broccoli almost becomes just a mere addition to brighten the
color and make it look healthy but nothing more.

I wanted the broccoli to be the main star of this soup and not just with a supporting role. With the help of a few wonderful vegetables added to the mix (that means extra nutrients, too!), this has become a wonderful soup indeed. The taste of the vegetables sautéed in a little butter harmonize well and the result is delicious. When puréed it is thick enough and with just the right consistency that you don't need any cream at all to make it thicker or better. A perfect winter soup indeed!

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon Olive oil
2 Tablespoons, butter (optional, increase Olive Oil by another Tbsp if you want it to be fully dairy-free)
3 Garlic cloves, minced
1 large or 2 small to medium onions, chopped
8-10 baby carrots, chopped thinly
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
4 cups or 32 oz chicken or vegetable broth/stock
3 Brocolli trimmed into small florets
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Procedure

In a large saucepan, melt the butter with the oil. Once the butter has melted, saute the garlic and onions just until aromatic, 30 seconds or less. Stir in the rest of the veggies and cook over gentle heat until tender roughly 6-8 minutes. Pour in the stock/broth and bring to a boil.

Add the broccolli florets and cook until tender. Remove the pan from the heat and cool a little.

Pour in the contents of the pan into a blender. Process until smooth. Return the pureed vegetables into the pan and then reheat. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Ladle into bowls and serve with some crusty French bread and some green salad! Enjoy this healthy and delicious soup!

Strawberry Kiwi Smoothie

I am a happy mom because I don't have much of a problem when it comes to asking my kids to eat their fruits. They love fruits and I don't even need to ask them, they ask themselves if they want some fruits for snacks. I try as much as I can to give them better snacks and since they always want something sweet - fruits are always the best options.

Summer or not we always have fruit shakes or smoothies in our house. Before I came to the US, my shake and smothie combinations were very few and mainly included mangoes, bananas, papayas and avocado and occasionally guyabano (sour sop) - all tropical fruits and flavors. They are all wonderful of course, there's no doubt. But now that I reside in the US - I have all the berries that are otherwise not available in my native land to turn into wonderful smoothies. Yay!

I saw some Kiwis the other day in our grocery store and then some lovely strawberries were on sale too. I thought that these two fruits with contrasting colors and texture might result to a great smoothie when blended together. I added as usual some applesauce to sweeten the smoothie and sort of balance the tartness. I think it worked well for they were gone in seconds when my two tots got a hold of them! That's what I call sucess! Enjoy!

Ingredients

2-3 Kiwi fruits, peeled and chopped

1 to 1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries (chopped)*

1 cup Applesauce

1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt

Honey or Brown sugar, about 2 Tablespoons or to taste

Procedure

Place all the ingredients in a blender. Process till smooth. Pour into glasses or jars and serve immediately. Enjoy.

*Note: I pre-cut the strawberries because they are frozen and it's more difficult to blend/purée them when they are whole. I usually place them on the bottom of the blender to make it easier. Pulse until the strawberries are all broken down and smooth and then process as usual. Enjoy!

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Eggs, Spinach and Mushrooms Skillet

A delicious breakfast or brunch dish - Eggs, Spinach and Mushrooms Skillet. All done on the stove top. Naturally nutritious, low-carb and gluten-free!

If you are a follower of this blog or our Facebook page you would notice that I love to have eggs, spinach and mushrooms for breakfast. I have a few recipes that feature all these three ingredients together in one dish. I think they all work together well that's why. The texture and flavors of each of these lovely and nutritious ingredients all combine to produce a delicious breakfast dish. However, when you have the same recipe all over again you get tired of it no matter how great it is. That's why I make a rotation for these ingredients. I don't cook them together in the same recipe all the time. I try to make variations whenever possible. Here's another lovely recipe using this three ingredients which this time does not involve the oven but just a skillet on the stove top. Easy and pretty to.

Now, depending on how big your skillet and the number of people you want to serve this - you can make up to 5 eggs/5 servings in one go. Since we are only a family of 4, more often than not, we use 4 eggs for 4 servings though occasionally if it's just me and hubby eating, we cut it down to 3 eggs.

While Spinach is my favorite greens to use - feel free to use Kale or Swiss Chard if you like.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Olive oil (for cooking the mushrooms)
1 (8 oz package) mini-bella mushrooms, chopped
1 (10 oz) package fresh spinach or about 5-6 cups firmly packed spinach
3-4 eggs

A little butter (optional)

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Procedure

Heat the oil in a large skillet or fying pan. Saute the mushrooms until they are tender and have fully released their water about 6-8 minutes. Set Aside.

Place the spinach in the frying pan or skillet that you cooked the mushrooms in. Add a little water, 2 tablespoons more or less. Using medium heat, cook the spinach just until wilted, about 2-4 mins. Use either your hand or a spatula to pack in the spinach.

Bring back the mushrooms to the skillet. You may season the vegetables lightly with salt and pepper at this point. Depending on the number of eggs you are using, create wells (if using 4 eggs, then 4 wells) in the middle by pushing the spinach and mushrooms to the side.