Beet & Berry Yoats + Big Love

Berry_yoats_01

A few years ago we had a section on this blog called Big Love where we shared links and things that inspired us at the moment – high and low. We’re reviving it today as we have too many unanswered emails and comments asking about everything from our favorite places, books, ceramics and camera gear. We also added a couple of other things to the list, like Elsa’s favorite song. Of course we’re also sharing the recipe for these Yoat jars further down in this post.

Big Love!

• Our cookbook shelf is always overflowing, here are our two latest additions. My Darling Lemon Thyme (by Emma Galloway) is a truly great book with recipes right up our alley (all vegetarian and gluten free). Tasting Rome (by Katie Parla and Kristina Gill) brings back so many memories from the time I was living there. Beautiful photography both of the city and its food.

• Luise is in love with the apron that Sara from Sprouted Kitchen made in collaboration with her sister from Stone Cold Fox. Luise is wearing it in this blog post and it can be found here.

• The ceramics from this Danish family company will make any food look pretty. Here are two examples where we have used it {uno | due}.

• If you are visiting Scandinavia, make sure to check out these links to some of our favourite places in Stockholm and Copenhagen.

• Our smoothie book is coming out in the US next week and can be pre-ordered here!

• For those of you asking about camera gear. I have a Canon EOS 5D mark iii with two different lenses. A 50 mm f/1.2 for all top shots and a 100 mm f/1.8 macro lens for all close-ups. I use the same equipment when I film videos for our youtube channel. When we travel I use this camera bag.

• If you love kombucha you should check out this incredible guide by Sarah from My New Roots.

• Even if it is our third time around, I will never get tired of seeing Luise’s tummy growing.

• Elsa is constantly humming on this song by two 14-year old Norwegian twin brothers (gone are apparently the days when she just played with teddybears and sang Twinkle Twinkle…).

• Isac’s new hair style – the boy-bun.

Berry_yoats_02

We call this quick breakfast recipe Yoats. It is a mashup of yogurt and oats (and a few other simple ingredients) that we prepare in jars for a simple outside breakfast in the sun. In a way, this recipe is similar to a bircher muesli as you can leave it in the fridge overnight, but because the yogurt loosens up the oats real quickly, it can also be indulged right away. For flavour and extra va-va-voom, we layer it with a rather thick raspberry and beetroot smoothie (maybe puree is a more describing word?) and also add some of it to the oats for a beautiful pink hue. The layers are not only visually appealing but also more interesting as the flavours change as you work your way through the jar. Beetroot for breakfast might sound scary but the earthiness from the root is perfectly balanced with tanginess from the lemon, sweetness from dates and fruitiness from the raspberries. We’ve tried the yoats recipe with coconut yogurt (as a vegan option) and Greek yogurt and they both taste great. Obviously you can change the flavour by simply making a different smoothie/purée.

Berry_yoats_03 Berry_yoats_04

Beetroot & Raspberry Yoats
Serves 4

Yoats
2 cups / 500 ml plain thick yogurt, Greek or Turkish (vegans can use Coconut Yogurt)
1 cup / 90 g rolled oats
¼ cup /35 g sunflower seeds
1 small apple, cored and roughly grated on a box grater
1 pinch ground vanilla or vanilla extract
1 tsp freshly grated ginger or ground ginger

Beet & Raspberry Purée
1 cup / 125 g raspberries (fresh or thawed frozen)
1 small raw beetroot (approx 65 g / 2 oz), peeled and coarsely chopped or grated (depending on the strength of your blender)
½ lemon, juice
2 tbsp water
2 soft dates, pitted

To serve
raspberries
fresh mint leaves, chopped
bee pollen

Place all ingredients for the yoats in a mixing bowl and gently stir to combine. Set aside.
Meanwhile prepare the purée. Add all ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Taste to see if more lemon juice, water or dates are needed. When done, mix ¼ cup of the purée with the yoats. Then divide the rest of the purée into 4 glass jars. Spoon the pink yoats into each jar. Eat right away or store in the fridge for up to a couple of days. Ideally make the recipe in the evening and serve for breakfast the following morning. Top with fresh raspberries, chopped mint and bee pollen before serving.

Green Kitchen Stories

Elsa’s Berry Cupcakes

Elsas_cupcakes_01

After quite a few years of cooking and developing recipes, we have managed to build up a little bit of confidence and don’t panic over kitchen fails or people’s opinions as easily anymore. But whenever our daughter asks me to bake for a few of her friends, my palms get all sweaty and my heart starts pounding. Seriously, nothing makes me more nervous than having to bake for a bunch of five- and six-year-olds.

Elsa is finishing preschool this summer and her favourite teacher is also retiring, so last week she wanted to bake a dessert for all the children and teachers at the preschool. She started out with grand plans for a big cake shaped like a princess but (luckily for me) we landed on mini cupcakes with a raspberry frosting. We had just bought a mini muffin pan and it was the perfect opportunity to try it out as we got a lot of muffins from one batch so it was enough for all the children and teachers.

Elsas_cupcakes_02

These muffins are really delicious and moist with hints of coconut, banana, almonds and cardamom. It’s one of our go-to recipes that we change slightly every time. They are only sweetened with fruit and entirely gluten free (and we are aslo sharing a vegan version below). If you are allergic to nuts, you can blend (100 g / 3 1/12 oz) sunflower seeds and use instead of the almond flour.

Whenever Elsa initiates one of these baking sessions, she always starts with lots of enthusiasm only to loose interest after about 45 seconds, leaving us to do the actual work. This time she was much more persistent. She measured, blended, worked the batter and dropped it into the muffin tins. Halfway through the batch, we also started dropping a raspberry in the centre of each muffin and they turned out even better with that little berry pocket in the middle. Piping the frosting was the hardest bit. Elsa was utterly disappointed that hers didn’t turn out as pretty as the ones she had seen on our screens. But towards the end they at least started looking better than in the beginning.

Since that first batch, we have made this recipe two more times. One time to check all the measurements and another time so we could try a vegan version. We are sharing both methods here below. You can of course also make normal size muffins and skip the frosting if you want to keep it simple.

Elsas_cupcakes_03

On another note, today we celebrate Midsummer in Sweden. We are going to be enjoying the last of these cupcakes and then we are off to find a maypole covered with flowers so we can jump like frogs around it! You think I am kidding? I am not.

Elsas_cupcakes_04

Banana & Coconut Cupcakes with Raspberry Pockets
Makes 24 mini cupcakes or 12 regular

Dry ingredients
100 g / 1 cup almond flour
120 g / 3/4 cup rice flour
45 g / 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp freshly ground cardamom
1/2 tsp vanilla powder
1 pinch salt

Wet ingredients
14 soft dates (1 cup / 150 g), stones removed (if using dried dates, soak them for an hour first)
1 ripe banana, peeled and cut into large chunks
4 tbsp coconut oil or butter, room tempered
180 ml / ¾ cup plain yogurt or plant based yogurt
3 eggs (for a vegan version soak 3 tbsp chia seeds in 9 tbsp water for 15 minutes, stir around and use instead of the eggs)

24 raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Berry Frosting (recipe below)

Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F. Grease a muffin tin (mini or regular size) or line it with paper or silicon cup liners. Place all of the dry ingredients in a bowl, stir together and set aside. Add the dates to a food processor and blend on high speed. When smooth, add the banana and coconut oil and blend again. Finally add yogurt and eggs and blend until smooth and entirely mixed. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with dry ingredients and stir together. Drop the batter into the muffin tins, place 1-2 raspberries in the centre of each muffin and cover it with batter. Bake for 10 minutes (17-20 minutes if you are using normal size muffins) or until golden and just set. Prepare the frosting while the muffins are in the oven. Leave the muffins to cool before piping the frosting on top. Serve immediately or store in the fridge.

Berry Frosting
70 g / ½ cup raspberries (or strawberries)
3-4 soft dates, stoned
200 g cream cheese (or vegan cream cheese)

Mix raspberries and dates in a food processor or with a hand blender until completely smooth. Whisk the berry mixture together with the cream cheese in a medium size bowl until pink and smooth. Scoop the frosting into a piping bag. Place it in the fridge for 20 minutes (or longer) to firm up before piping the frosting on top of the cupcakes.

Elsas_cupcakes_05

Green Kitchen Stories

Spinach Berry Popsicles with Cereal

Spinach Berry Popsicles with Cereal

Every summer I set a goal to make a lot of ice cream. We love ice cream and it’s a really fun treat during the hot summer months. However, time and planning is never on my side. Instead, we become all about the popsicles. These berry popsicles are a staple for us because they are healthy but manage to curb my major sweet tooth. All it takes is blending a few ingredients together and sitting patiently for the few hours it takes to freeze. There’s a lot of different popsicle molds on the market right now but if you’re really in to making your own, I highly suggest purchasing this set. Read more and see the recipe.

The post Spinach Berry Popsicles with Cereal appeared first on Naturally Ella.

Naturally Ella