Greek Yogurt Cake Soaked in Syrup Recipe (Yiaourtopita)

A delicious Greek yogurt cake recipe, infused with the aromas and blends of oranges and lemons and garnished with a cognac scented syrup! Greek yogurt cake (yiaourtopita) is a traditional Greek cake recipe, made with yogurt instead of milk, which makes it extra moist and tender. The only thing you have to be careful about is to use full fat, drained, Greek yogurt, so that the cake won’t become gummy. Traditionally, this Greek yogurt cake recipe doesn’t call for syrup, but it certainly is a nice addition!

Serve this delicious traditional Greek yogurt cake (yiaourtopita) with a full spoon of yogurt or ice cream and fresh fruits. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 cup and 1/8 of a cup sugar
• 3/4 of a cup butter
• 2 and 1/4 of a cup self rising flour
• 1 cup yogurt
• 5 eggs (separated into yolks and whites)
• 3 tsps baking powder
• zest of 1 lemon
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the syrup

• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 3-4 tbsps cognac
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. To prepare the syrup for this Greek yogurt cake, add all the ingredients for the syrup in a small pot and bring to the boil. Boil for about 2-3 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup has slightly thickened. Leave aside to cool.
2. To prepare the Greek yogurt cake (yiaourtopita), divide the eggs into yolks and whites. Place the egg whites in the mixer’s bowl, along with a pinch of salt. Make sure your egg whites, bowl and whisk attachments are clean and free of any water. Whisk the egg whites until the mixture is very thick and glossy and a long trailing peak forms when the whisk is lifted (meringues). Place the mixture in a bowl and set aside.
3. In another bowl, sift the flour and the baking powder and blend.
4. Use an electric mixer, to mix the butter and sugar for about 15 minutes, until the butter is creamy and fluffy (it is very important that the butter is at room temperature). Add the egg yolks, one at a time, whilst mixing, allowing time for each one to be absorbed, before adding another. Add the yogurt, the orange and lemon zest and the vanilla extract and blend to combine. Add 1/3 of the sifted flour and blend, using a maryse spatula. Add 1/3 of the meringues and blend with light circular movements from the bottom up. Repeat with the rest of the flour and meringue (adding 1/3 of the flour and 1/3 meringue and then the remaining flour and meringue).
5. Preheat the oven to 190C (both top and bottom heating elements on). To bake the Greek yogurt cake, use a round cake tin, approx. 26cm in diameter. Butter the bottom and sides of the tin and pour in the mixture. 
6. Place the cake in the preheated oven, on the lower rack, turn the heat down to 175C and bake for 50-60 minutes, until nicely coloured and cooked through. Check if it is ready, by sticking in the middle of the cake a wooden skewer or toothpick. If it comes out clean, then the cake is ready.
7. To finish the Greek yogurt cake, ladle slowly the cold syrup over the hot cake, allowing each ladle of syrup to be absorbed, before ladling again. Allow time for the syrup to be absorbed.
8. This Greek yogurt cake is ideally served cold, not hot, with a fresh fruits, yogurt or ice-cream . Enjoy!

Penetration.

Via Wendy Strgaron Oct 1, 2010

Language is the metaphor we use to communicate our deepest feelings. A couple’s sexuality is the most profound vehicle of communication available.

The words we use and our physical language of love define our love experience.

Penetration is the word often used to describe the culminating act of sex. It’s a word I often use when describing the best use of a good lubricant. But it was just this week after using the word in conjunction with the act that I wondered what I was saying.  The verb to penetrate has six different definitions in the dictionary and as in the power of any metaphor, the meaning one attaches to the term may deeply influence our relationship to the act.

A lesbian friend of mine once told me that it is not uncommon for many of her friends to maintain a no penetration relationship, and among my heterosexual friends, it is not a small minority who avoid penetration with their spouses.  I never asked them, but I wonder if for them the meaning of penetration feels like a military force entering into enemy territory or a projectile into a target.

Certainly the idea of women as targets for men is rampant, and so the need to protect oneself is also deeply held.

To penetrate also means to have an effect throughout, spread through; permeate, move deeply, or imbue. Applied again as a metaphor for sexuality, this penetration is an act that transforms, that has the potential of changing everything.

This sexual act can have the force of inspiration, the possibility of being completely saturated with love.

The act of penetration is a force of nature that is loaded with meaning and mystery.  Not surprisingly, to penetrate also means to gain insight and to have a marked effect on the mind and emotions. Our language about our sexuality is as layered as the act itself, and knowing what you mean when you speak about love and sex can only be helpful.

Sexuality is a metaphor for many things in life. Those things that we share in our sexual encounters, like language, attitudes and openness with one another, have a long reach into the depth and intimacy of our day-to-day relationships.

Consider your relationship to penetration: the word, the idea and the act.  Penetration means all of these things all at once.  But if I were to make a leap, in the name of making love sustainable, it would be that couples who build a strong and consensual relationship with the meaning and act of penetration are much more likely to have a strong and consensual relationship to each other.

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About Wendy Strgar

Wendy Strgar, founder and CEO of Good Clean Love, is a loveologist who writes and lectures on Making Love Sustainable, a green philosophy of relationships which teaches the importance of valuing the renewable resources of love, intimacy and family. In her new book, Love that Works: A Guide to Enduring Intimacy, she tackles the challenging issues of sustaining relationships and healthy intimacy with an authentic and disarming style and simple yet innovative advice. It has been called "the essential guide for relationships." The book is available on ebook, as well as in paperback online. Wendy has been married for 27 years to her husband, a psychiatrist, and lives with their four children ages 13- 22 in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

Khagina - Pakistani Scrambled Eggs

 
Ingredients:
 

2 tsp ghee – or substitute with 1 tbsp butter and 1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
3 British Lion eggs
Salt to taste
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
6-7 cherry tomatoes, chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
Freshly ground pepper
 
Method:
 
1. Whisk the eggs with tomatoes, coriander and green chillies.
 
2. In a frying pan, heat the ghee or butter and oil and once hot, add the cumin until it splutters.
 
3. Next add the garlic and allow it to get lightly browned. Now add the egg mixture and scramble until done.
 
4. Serve immediately with a freshly ground black pepper.

Vanilla Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

CUPCAKES

• 10 tablespoons (11/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons self-rising flour
• 2 tablespoons whole milk

FROSTING

• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 4 teaspoons fresh orange juice
• 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

FOR CUPCAKES:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 8 standard (1/3-cup) muffin cups with paper liners. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in medium bowl until fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Mix in flour, then milk. Divide batter among prepared cups (about 1/3 cup for each). Bake until golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 23 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to rack and cool completely.

FOR FROSTING:

• Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in another medium bowl until smooth. Beat in orange juice and lemon juice. Spread frosting over cupcakes.

Chewy Molasses Cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ¾ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup mild-flavored (light) or robust-flavored (dark) molasses
• ¼ cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• Coarse sanding or raw sugar (for rolling)

• Place racks in lower and upper thirds of oven; preheat to 375°. Whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk egg, butter, granulated sugar, molasses, and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Mix in dry ingredients just to combine.
• Place sanding sugar in a shallow bowl. Scoop out dough by the tablespoonful and roll into balls (if dough is sticky, chill 20 minutes). Roll in sugar and place on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 2” apart.
• Bake cookies, rotating baking sheets halfway through, until cookies are puffed, cracked, and just set around edges (overbaked cookies won’t be chewy), 8–10 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and let cool.
• DO AHEAD: Cookie dough can be made and rolled into balls 2 weeks ahead. Freeze on a baking sheet; transfer to resealable plastic bags. Let sit at room temperature 30 minutes before rolling in sugar.

Ten Reasons Not to Share this Post about Masturbation. ~ Iris Hennhttp://www.elephantjournal.com/2011/07/ten-reasons-not-to-share-this-post-about-masturbation-iris-henn/

Via elephant journalon Jul 25, 2011

The touch.

1. People might think you enjoy your body.
2. They might be judgmental
3. Or jealous
4. Or curious
5. They might want to talk with you about it.
6. And you probably don’t want to talk about it,
7. They might laugh at you, out of their own discomfort.
8. They might assume you’re lonely, sad, a loser.
9. You might have to be honest.

10. Because what would happen if we all started talking about it?

And discovered that we can speak gently, respectfully, thoughtfully on the topic. We can listen and be curious and discover that our fears and our delights are common and understandable, that our bodies are beautiful and unimaginable, that we are alive and we are wonderful.

I’ll tell you what would happen: we would all sigh a great sigh of relief, of pleasure, of possibility. We’d talk about how it is okay to touch ourselves, to have sexy and strange fantasies, to be safe and slow with ourselves. We would support each other. We wouldn’t be weird with each other. We’d celebrate that pleasure is ours to give ourselves and offer to others, that we don’t need to buy it at the store or beg for it at the bar. We’d start going on dates with ourselves more often. We’d start giggling uncontrollably for the joy of this topic finally being on the table with our friends we trust, with our partners we love.

Maybe you don’t want to talk about it.  Oh, how fine this is. Maybe you don’t want to masturbate. Also, so okay.But maybe you just want to know it is okay, women do it, men do it.

I do it. I love it.

Maybe you will just feel better knowing the conversation is out there, is possible.

That is all I hope for…to begin a conversation about how giving ourselves pleasure is not only not shameful it is worthy of celebration, of song, of widespread sharing.

Enjoying our own bodies is a birthright.

Share away. 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Iris Henn is a teacher and writer. Her favorite blogs include All is Listening: Tools and Tales for Breaking Up, Waking Up, and Falling in Love, Cleavage and Unabashedly Female.

The Magic of Cooking. ~ Hiba Giacoletto

Via Hiba Giacolettoon Mar 16, 2014

I find there is a certain ‘magic’ involved in the act of combining seemingly disparate ingredients and creating something completely new.

That’s why I love cooking. Not necessarily fancy things that take hours, but the simplest of dishes. What’s more, I find that being fully present for the act of preparing meals can actually bring a tiny bit of this ‘magic’ into my life.

Here’s how to turn an activity you might otherwise consider a chore, into a magical experience:

First, no matter how much time you have and regardless of what is happening around you, try to simply focus on the cooking by telling yourself, “Right now, all I have to do is prepare this food.”

Then, focus on the multi-sensorial experience of the preparation.

Cooking is actually one of the most multi-sensorial experiences we can have—if we pay attention. Allow yourself to get into the flow by focusing on your senses:

Smell. Inhale the odor of your ingredients as you use them; take in the smell of spices when you unscrew the jar; enjoy the smell of butter as it melts or notice the fragrance of herbs as you chop them.

Touch. Feel the skin of your vegetables and simply notice – is it rough or smooth? Is your tomato firm or does it feel juicy? Play around with your ingredients to really get to know them. Don’t just use spatulas—whenever you can, get in there and mix with your hands. I find this creates more of a connexion with your food, giving you a more intimate knowledge of it.

Taste. As you prepare your meal, taste the different stages of the process. Get to know your ingredients separately and taste them again as you prepare your dish. Notice how they interact with other ingredients to create something much more complex and exciting than any of their individual tastes.

Hearing. Pay attention to the sound of your food preparation: The deep melody of water boiling, the wooden clonk of a rolling pin, the pouring of uncooked rice into a bowl, the tempo of your knife as you chop…there is always something happening when you listen.

Sight. And of course, there’s that most dominant sense of sight and cooking gives us plenty of occasions to admire what we are preparing. Notice the beautiful pattern of a cabbage when you cut it in half, the vibrant green of a broccoli or how what you are preparing transforms in front of your very eyes as you heat it, blend it or cut it.

My favorite childhood author, Roald Dahl, wrote,

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”

Choose to believe in magic and I am sure you will also discover it when cooking.

Here is one of my magical recipes to help you get started:

Dukkah 

This Egyptian spice blend is a feast for all your senses. You can make a large quantity and keep it in a jar in the fridge to sprinkle over pretty much any food such as roasted or steamed vegetables, salads, eggs, and also just with bread dipped in olive oil, then in dukkah (the traditional way). You could also try encrusting fish or meat with dukkah instead of bread crumbs.

•  1 cup unsalted nuts or a mix of nuts such as pistachio, hazelnuts or almonds
•  3/4 cup sesame seeds
•  1/2 cup cumin seeds
•  1/4 cup coriander seeds
•  1 teaspoon sea salt
•  Freshly ground black pepper

Start by toasting the nuts—put them on a try in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius/350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 5-10 minutes—keep an eye on them and stir constantly so they don’t burn. You can tell when they are ready from the wonderful smell, and they also become a little darker.

Take them out and leave them to cool completely.

Toast the sesame seeds in the same way—they should take only a few minutes. Once again, the smell and slightly toasted appearance will let you know when they are ready.

Take them out and leave them to cool completely.

Dry roast the coriander and cumin seeds in a pan over low to medium heat. Keep tossing them so they don’t burn. They should be ready in a few minutes—once again the smell will let you know!

Once all the ingredients have cooled, combine them in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is crumbly and as fine or coarse as you would like it to be. Be careful not to overdo the food processing as the Dukkah can easily turn into a paste.

Enjoy!