Spinach Salad with Pita, Almonds, & Dates from Jerusalem

Replaced the pita with matzah for Passover. So, so good. Crunchy, satisfying, great balance of salty and sweet. And since it was made with sturdy baby spinach, even though it was already dressed, the leftovers even worked the next day! Note: this recipe calls for sumac, which I happened to have, otherwise I would have used another dried herb in its place such as basil, oregano, or thyme.

Make Again? Definitely! With pita, next time!

Butternut Squash with Tahini Dressing from Jerusalem

This recipe was awesome! First of all, it was super easy to make (did you know you can roast butternut squash without peeling it?! Hello, time-saver!). Second, the tahini dressing was simple to throw together and everyone loved it. The dressing recipe definitely makes more than you need for the dish, so I would recommend using it sparingly and then saving the leftovers for salad dressing.

Make Again? Absolutely! I think this will become a fall/winter staple in our house!

Fried Cauliflower with Tahini Dressing from Jerusalem

I roasted, instead of fried, the cauliflower and didn’t use sunflower oil or pomegranate molasses (because, what?!). I also skipped the green onions because I didn’t have any. Again, the tahini dressing recipe makes way more than you need, so just save the leftovers for other salads. I did a lot to adjust this one and will likely blog the adapted recipe soon because even with all the changes it was delicious! The grown-ups at the table were falling over themselves for this. One of my kids was super into it because of the tahini dressing, the other one not so much.

Make Again? Definitely! In fact, just thinking about it makes me want to add it to my meal plan for next week…

Lavender-Lemon Cake from Eat Real Live Well

This cake was AMAZING. Really, really amazing. I used my go-to yogurt cake recipe as the base, but subbed in some almond flour to add a little more nutritional heaft and density, sort of like a coffee cake. It was so, so good.

Make Again? FOR SURE! I think I might even make it for my own birthday cake next month.

Calzones from The Kitchn

Instead of using my go-to pizza dough recipe for my calzones this time, I decided to use the thin crust pizza dough recipe recommended in the recipe and I actually think it made a big difference. The crust was nice and crunchy along the edges, but soft in the pocket. Added bonus: you don’t need to allow for rising time if you don’t have the time to do that, so it can become a pretty simple weeknight meal.

Make Again? YES!

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<p>The post Recipe Roundup: April Edition first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>

Other than my mom’s poached pears, however, there are few dessert recipes that are considered essential (and even that one isn’t made every year). So when The Recipe Redux announced the challenge for this month: “The holiday baking season is upon us. Time to pull out all the stops. Show us the healthy holiday dessert you will be sharing with family and friends this season.” I was excited to see what I could come up with. I wanted to create a recipe that would not only have some redeemable nutritional aspects to it, but that would also be a simple one that anyone could do. My goal of simplicity was a bit selfish because I hoped that in making one that was easy, perhaps I could entice the boys to start making it with me and that over time it could become their special recipe to contribute to future holiday meals.

Outside of its simplicity, I love this recipe for a couple of reasons. The first is that it is not too sweet. Don’t get me wrong, it is sweet and definitely tastes like dessert, but it tastes like a refreshing end to a meal rather than another brick in the stomach. Another is that I love the tartness of the cranberries. They enliven my senses and remind me that desserts should have layers of flavor and interest to them. Plus I think the specks of red throughout the cake is really pretty. And finally, I enjoy knowing that the moistness of the cake is due to the yogurt rather than a heavier alternative.

Yogurt in general is a great ingredient to use and you can quickly prepare other snacks, dips and sides like the 1-Minute Dessert: Sweet Yogurt Dip.

This cake is so easy to prepare! No beating of eggs, no sifting of flour, just simple mixing and baking. It is also easy to adjust. If cranberries aren’t your thing, you could add raisins or other chopped dried fruit instead. If you do this, I would recommend cutting the sugar down to one cup since you won’t need to counterbalance the tartness of the cranberries. And chopped nuts would make a delicious addition as well! If you want to boost the nutritional content even more, you could use white whole wheat flour or replace half of the all purpose flour with spelt flour. It may come out a little bit more dense, but the moisture of the yogurt will keep you in the delicious zone.

If you don’t feel like making the glaze, you can also just dust the cake with a little bit of powdered sugar, which you should do just before serving, as it will soak into the cake.

So whether it is for Thanksgiving or some other holiday celebration this season, I highly recommend trying this cake out and please let me know what you think!

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Cranberry Yogurt Cake with Maple Glaze

Course Dessert

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Author Jessica Braider

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups whole milk plain yogurt you could also use lowfat yogurt, if you prefer
• 2/3 cups extra virgin olive oil
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoons baking soda
• ¾ teaspoons cinnamon
• ¾ teaspoons ground clove
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped fresh cranberries chopped
• For the glaze optional:
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 Tablespoons milk

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 and spray a Bundt pan with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
• Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Make sure that all of the flour is mixed in well (no little lumps).
• Chop the cranberries and gently mix in.
• Pour the batter into the Bundt pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
• Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack and immediately, but gently, turn it over.
• Let the cake cool completely. While it is cooling make the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and milk together in a small bowl.
• Once the cake is completely cool, place it on a serving plate or platter and drizzle the glaze over.

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<p>The post Cranberry Yogurt Cake with Maple Glaze: A Simple Dessert for the Holiday Season first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>