Lemon Yogurt Semolina Cake

With the temperatures in the upper 70's and the sun shining bright, it was time to get our grills out and have some friends over for a barbeque. I pulled out a cookbook with some recipes of Greek food to get a few ideas on kebabs for the barbeque party. While I was flipping through the book I stumbled upon this dessert cake. It called for a different ingredient "semolina" in place of our regular "all purpose flour". The picture in the book was so tempting that I had to try it out. It also reminded me of a similar wonderful semolina cake that my Mom bakes at home. I was lost in the past, thinking of the sweet smell of this cake which surrounded the entire house as it baked on a stove top....yeah, stove top. That's how Mom made this cake back then.

What excited me even more was that I had everything that the recipe required in my kitchen! That doesn't happen too often! I considered this as my lucky charm and put my apron on. 40 minutes later, this is what came out of my oven....

Ingredients:

For the Cake-

2 tbs unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tbs lemon rind
1 egg
1/4 cup fine semolina
1/4 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup black raisins
1/2 tsp baking powder
4 tbs plain yogurt

For the Syrup-

4 tbs sugar
2 tbs lemon juice, fresh
2tbs honey

Method:

1. Cream the sugar, butter and lemon rind with an electric beater until light and fluffy.
2. Crack the egg and beat into this mixture until well incorporated.
3. Lightly fold in the semolina, ground almonds, baking power, raisins and yogurt.
4. Line a 5 inch springform with parchment paper. Pour the mixture in it and bake at 350 deg F oven for 25-30 minutes. The cake is done when a tooth pick inserted at the center comes out clean. The top should turn golden brown.
5. Mix the ingredients for the syrup in a sauce pan. Heat it until the sugar melts but do not boil the mixture.
6. Drizzle the syrup on the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven.
7. Cool the cake completely and cut into triangular pieces. Serves 2-3.

Serving:

What??? Just dig in..

Vegetable & Corn Chowder

I had been planning on trying this recipe throughout winter. But for some reason or the other, it kept getting pushed for later. Soon it was Spring and I forgot all about this chowder and instead went in for a cold Summer Beetroot Soup. However, the cold weather got back to tease us again. Now was my opportunity to check out this chowder that I had been thinking of all through the winter. So here you go...I hope you enjoy this vegetable corn chowder loaded with healthy fats, starch, fiber and protein.

Ingredients:
1 tbs vegetable oil
1-2 cloves of garlic
1 small red onion, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 medium potato, diced
1/3 cups broccoli florets
1 cup sweet corn
1/2 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated
2 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 cups vegetable stock
2 tbs all purpose flour
2 tbs fresh cilantro, chopped finely
Salt and pepper


Method:

1. Cook the broccoli florets until tender in boiling water with some salt. Remove and keep aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large soup pot and add the garlic. Saute for a minute and then add the onions, potatoes and red bell pepper. Stir for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the flour and cook for about a minute.
4. Stir in the stock and milk and bring it to a boil stirring continuously.
5. Add the sweet corn and simmer for about 15-20 minutes over low heat until all the vegetables get cooked.
6. Add the broccoli florets, heavy cream and cheese.
7. Stir for 2 minutes and season with salt and pepper.

Serving:

Serve in a warm soup bowl with a crusty baguette. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro.