Cascadilla

Cascadilla is a cold tomato based soup. I mixed tomato juice and yogurt together, then added minced cucumber, minced red bell pepper, minced garlic, and a roasted mushroom to the soup. The original recipe called for a fresh, raw mushroom, but I didn't have any, so I improvised. I also didn't have the green onion the recipe called for ... oh well!

It tasted very fresh and went nicely with lunch. I was a little concerned about having cold soup, but I actually really liked it.

Fruited Yogurt Desserts

This is a simple dessert recipe that really anyone can do! Even you beginners!  I made Fruited Yogurt Desserts this afternoon for a healthy snack.

I began by gathering my ingredients: plain yogurt, blueberries, a banana, and agave syrup.

I get my agave syrup from a local company called Uncle Harry's Natural Products. If you have a moment, you should really check them out.  Uncle Harry's has some amazing stuff! I love the All Natural Tooth Powder and Monoi Tiare Oil. They also just started a twitter, which updates with sassy and smart tidbits!

I digress. Back to this yogurt delight: put a couple of spoonfuls of yogurt in a bowl. Peel and slice banana into coins and add it the bowl. Sprinkle blueberries into the bowl. Drizzle with about half a tablespoon of agave nectar. Stir and ENJOY! Or else! 

This isn't rocket science folks! Fruited Yogurt Desserts are yummy. I had to modify mine a bit from the original recipe due to a lack of certain fruits being in season and certain sweeteners not being a staple in my home. A flexible recipe for sure.

Yogurt Pie with Berry Sauce

I was able to check three recipes off my list with this go around: Yogurt Cheese, Yogurt Pie, and Berry Sauce.

Yogurt Cheese is made from a regular batch of yogurt, which is left to strain overnight. The result is extra rich and creamy yogurt. It taste like Greek yogurt but isn't nearly as fattening!


Yogurt Pie uses yogurt cheese with a little sugar and vanilla mixed in. I poured this into a sweet crumb crust and served it with Berry Sauce. I spilled about a third of this sauce, a third of it got stuck in the strainer, and the last third was used to drizzle on individual slices of Yogurt Pie. This pie is RICH but doesn't make me feel nearly as guilty as cheesecake.

(My apologies for the crappy photos in this post. I dunno what the deal is!)

Mushroom Curry

Mushroom Curry has a whole lotta flavor. Mushroom, onion, garlic, celery, tomato, apple, and coconut spiced with cumin, cinnamon, tumeric, ginger, mustard seed, cloves, and allspice. Whoa! I really appreciate that these Moosewood curry recipes instruct you to create your own curry flavor. Curry powder is a bit of a mystery to me and each brand has a different blend. The mushroom curry had a wonderful broth and a spicy flavor. We served it over rice with some strained yogurt on top. Truly a wonderful meal! Thank you to Renee and Randee for hosting :)

Pepper and Onion Shortcake with Polenta

This is a Pepper and Onion Shortcake on a square of Polenta. I wasn't too familiar with polenta prior to Moosewood, and now I can say that I am HUGE fan. It is delicious, and oh-so-incredibly easy to make. Cornmeal, cold water, a little salt, and a whisk! Originally, this recipe calls for a batch of cornbread, but I thought I'd get a little fancy and make it with polenta instead!

The topping for the polenta is slow cooked onion with red pepper, garlic, cumin, cayenne, and black pepper. After removing this combination from heat, I added a skosh of yogurt and sour cream. The flavors balanced well with the cayenne pepper! There's a sprinkling of paprika and dill on top too. Overall, this dish was magnificent! Polenta sticks to your ribs and tastes delicious!

Chilled Berry Soup

Chilled Berry Soup is super delicious and cooling. It is a little heap of juicy berries with a blend of yogurt and orange juice poured on top. It's not too sweet and refreshing. I love the way the colors swirl together!

Satyamma's Famous Cauliflower Curry and Banana Raita

Friday night I made Satyamma's Famous Cauliflower Curry with Banana Raita. It was my first time making curry. The sauce was a blend of shredded coconut, mustard seed, garlic, ginger, toasted peanuts, tumeric, cloves, sesame seeds, and cayenne. It was spicy and delicious.
The curry sauce was added to cauliflower, carrots, and onion and simmered on the stove for a while. We served the curry over rice, with cucumber, raisins, orange slices, toasted coconut, and toasted sesame seeds on the side.

I also made Banana Raita for the curry. Raita is "a yogurt preparation with small amounts of seasoning and a hint of fresh grated vegetables. It is designed to cool and relax the palate between bites of heavier, more intensely seasoned dishes." (Thanks Mollie!) The banana recipe came from the original Moosewood Cookbook and was really nice. It had a sweet, but not too sweet, banana flavor and a hint of spice at the end. Overall, a curry success and really nice dinner! I am looking forward to making the other curry dishes in this book.