Whole Wheat Peachy Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Lemon Glazed

 

I have an itch to bake for quite sometimes now since my last popsicles I made for summer, but I just can’t decide what to bake first. When I turn around to ask the hubby, his answer would be his absolute favorite “Carrot cake!”  I should have known that already.   I asked him anyway if he would feel like to have a cake.   But the feeling of “just bake something” doesn’t work for me if no one want to eat it.   Right?

When it comes to baking, I’d more likely go for the unfussy and easy to put together recipes with a promise result.      Since I am just an amateur baker who thought herself to bake and like to try out what works and what’s not, I particularly try to avoid those recipes with too many techniques involved.    Not because I don’t want to learn to bake something that new to me (I have chiffon cake on my list that I’d like to learn how to bake one of these days), but I just have too many lazy bones in my body (what a silly excuse!).  

 

So, I go for the easy one today with the ingredients I already have in my pantry.  And also it’s my last chance to bake something with sweet juicy summer fruit like peach – Whole Wheat Peachy Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with a Drizzle of Lemon Glazed.     Sounds yummy!

I used organic whole wheat flour for my recipe but you can absolutely use all-purpose flour or mix half of each.    One thing that I forgot to add was either ground cinnamon or ground ginger or just some ground all-spiced to give it a hint of awesomeness.  
This recipe is definitely a keeper.   I can say it is a perfect cake to take to a potluck party for sure.

 

The cake came out surprisingly and incredibly moist with the perfectly right amount of sweetness.

Thankfully for the lemon glazed I poured on top of the cake that slowly seeping all the way through the cake to keep the cake moist and crate the lemony sweet goodness.   Though the hubby was not crazy about the poppy seeds as much as I did, but he finished a huge piece with cool whip on the side in no time.  Yay, he didn’t like it at all (with my eyes rolling).


What you need:   for 1 9-in round cake pan

For cake:

1 1/2 cups organic whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. poppy seeds
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt
2 large egg
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. lemon zest
2 peaches peeled and sliced

 

Lemon glazed:

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
: Whisk together to mix well

 

How to:

- Preheat the oven to 350’F and lightly grease a 9-in round or square pan with butter or cooking spray and set aside
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, set aside
- In another large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, and sugar for 2 minutes, and add in lemon juice and zest, vanilla, and yogurt, then stir in the dry mixture in 3 batches until well blended (I whisk everything by hand. If you have electric mixer, it would be easier and faster)
- Pour the batter into the cake pan and give it a shake to make it even
- Arrange the peaches on top of the batter, or however you like, and gently push them down into the batter a little
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the taster comes out clean
- When the cake is done, take it out from the oven, let cool for 10 minutes, and then drizzle with lemon glaze on top
- Let cool before serving or serve warm with your cup of coffee or your favorite tea

 Enjoy!

 

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Quinoa Tabbouleh

Shhh…. Did you hear that? The loud screams of freshness coming out from this salad.


Whenever the hubby and I go to the Middle Eastern restaurant, I usually fill myself up with pita chips, hummus, tzatziki, and tabbouleh while the hubby enjoys a few leg of lamb, lentil soup, and baklava.

By all mean, lentil soup and baklava are my favorite, too! But not so much for a leg of lamb. Yeah, I know what you are thinking. Since I don’t eat beef, the lamb meat has a pretty strong taste and smell close to beef. Though I have tried “a bite,” I had threw up because of its strong flavor that just trapped in my throat and wouldn’t go down. I bet it’s good because the hubby enjoys it so much every time. I don’t mind though because I enjoy my tzatziki and tabbluleh so much every time as well.


 And today I feel like making tabbouleh myself at home with a little extras of quinoa and cucumber to add a little more body into it. But, what did I tell ya? While making this salad and after shooting a few pictures and after I finish eating this salad, I could hear the loud screams, “oh, I’m so F-R-E-S-H” til the end of my last bite. [shhh…. I was almost licking my plate!]





 What you need:   2-4 servings

1/2 cup dried quinoa
1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
1 cup mint leaves, finely chopped
2 medium Roma tomatoes, cubed
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
2 small/1 medium Persian cucumber, cubed
1 medium Lemon juice and zest
3-4 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
A tiny pinch of sugar


How to:

- Bring 1 cup of water to a boil, add dried quinoa, stir and low the heat to simmer. Let it cooks for 10-15 minutes with the lid cover, check and stir occasionally, until all the water is absorbed and the quinoa is cooked. Set aside and let cool completely.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine parsley, mint, onion, cucumber, and quinoa.
- Whisk lemon juice and zest, olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin and sugar to blend well, pour over the salad and toss to mix well.
- Leave the salad in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to set and enhance the flavor before serving

Enjoy!

 

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Soda-Soy Braised Spicy Riblets

These succulent looking riblets was not meant to be posted. But after the taste test result, I have to say, “Why not share this with the world?” Yeah, why not?

My first initial plan for these riblets was to cook them over the hot grill. But my lazy bones at the moment disagreed with me. It was not only because the hot weather in the afternoon that started to heat up, but also I had to make another side dish to go with it as well. As a result, I skipped steps. Instead of put those riblets on the grill and try to cook the marinated juice down to make a thick sauce to brush on the riblets while grilling, I decided to cook them in the aluminum foil pan all together with the marinated juice over the medium heat grill and forget about it for almost an hour in order to get them soft and tender. I also wanted to cook the sauce down as much as possible. Surprisingly, the sauce had cooked down and caramelized the riblets from the bottom up which created the grilled effect to the riblets with the shiny and sticky sauce all over.

My first reaction was not so sure how those riblest would come out. But after my first bite, I went nuts! “OMG!” The riblets were soft and tender, but not to the point that I could say that it will melt in your mouth. The caramelized sauce was so T-A-S-T-Y with a huge kick of spiciness from those chili and garlic I added into the marinade.

All I can say is that I licked my fingers clean eating these riblets. I will definitely make it again with chicken drumsticks next time.

 

What you need:

2 lbs. pork riblets, cut and cleaned
1 can soda – any flavor, coke, sprite, sierra mist, etc.
10 cloves garlic, lightly smashed
10 Thai red chili, lightly smashed
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tbsp. ground black pepper

How to:

- Whisk brown sugar, pepper, and soy sauce, add garlic, chili, soda, and stir to mix well
- Pour over the pork riblets and let them marinade overnight in the refrigerator
- Turn on the grill to medium
- Transfer the marinated pork and everything to a aluminum foil pan and set it over the grill, close the grill and let it cook for 40 minutes with another piece of aluminum foil cover on top. Give the pan a shake once or twice in between. After 40m minutes, the juice should be reduced, uncover and cook for another 15-20 minutes, the juice now will turn scorch brown and caramelized. Take off the heat immediately.
- Serve with a sprinkle of chopped green onion, with rice, coleslaw, salad, or as you wish.

Enjoy!

 

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