Peach and Rose Water Lassi

This lassi is a sweet, refreshing summer drink that's a little different from the usual. We love how it combines sweet ripe peaches and yogurt with a bit of rosewater, then is topped with a sprinkling of salty pistachios. We also love the blogger who created this recipe - it's Erin, from Yummy Supper! We were lucky enough to get our hands on an early copy of her brand new cookbook, which is where we found this jewel of a recipe.

Would you like to win a copy of the new Yummy Supper cookbook? We think you'd love it! Just leave a comment on this post and we'll randomly choose a winner on Friday August 29th. Open to US only.

A few words about the cookbook. It happens to be a gluten free cookbook, but to be honest I didn't  even notice that at first. It is filled with exactly the types of recipes we love to make. Fresh and interesting vegetable based dishes, really great drink ideas (many of which can be morphed into cocktails), and so many flavorful and simple main dishes. If you like cooking great tasting dishes using real food ingredients - you should definitely be checking this cookbook out.

Now back to this recipe. It's right in the middle of peach season here in Colorado, and we are a state that happens to produce truly delicious peaches. They're grown on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, in picturesque little towns like Paonia and Palisade. The small batch food scene around here turns those peaches into some jaw-droppingly great things. Like this stuff. So of course, this recipe was a must try for us!

In addition to tasting great, I love the colors of this recipe. The soft pinky peach topped with vibrant pistachios is so lovely.

We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did. And if you'd like to enter to win a copy of Yummy Supper, don't forget to leave a comment. Winner will be chosen on Friday, August 29th.

 Peach and Rose Water Lassi

• 1 cup fresh or frozen peaches, cut into chunks (1 large or 2 small peaches)
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 2 Tbs milk
• 1/2-1 tsp rose water
• 2-3 Tbs honey
• pinch of Maldon sea salt or any good sea salt
• 4 ice cubes
• 2 Tbs coursely chopped roasted salted pistachios

In a standing blender, combine the peaches, yogurt, milk, rose water, honey, and salt. Blend until everything is smooth and silky, then taste for sweetness.
Add additional honey if you'd like it and even a little extra splash of rose water, if it pleases you.
Finally, add the ice cubes. Blend again, and serve topped with the pistachios.

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

Summer fresh blueberries brightened up with lemon zest & juice make these muffins a perfect summertime treat.  They’re made with a base of yogurt which makes them moist and tender without being oily or too cake-like.

The colors in these muffins are so beautiful – dark blue and bright purple berries complimented with a soft yellow lemony crumb.  We love these fresh simple flavor combinations for summer; you don’t need a complicated mish mash of flavors when it’s so hot and beautiful outside.  Just pure whole foods based goodness.

When you pull the muffins out of the oven you’ll see bubbling purple blueberry juice oozing around the edges.  Restrain yourself to prevent burns! It’s hard, I know.  The berries provide plenty of natural sweetness, and the muffin batter itself only contains 1/2 c sugar so these muffins are not overly sweet, which we prefer.

Pile the cooled muffins in a bowl and enjoy for breakfast, snacks, and dessert.

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

• 1 cup plain yogurt (we used full fat Greek yogurt)
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cups fresh blueberries (although frozen would work just fine)
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prep a 12 muffin pan with paper liners or an oil rub/spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, milk, egg, oil, lemon juice, zest, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients on top of the whisked wet ones: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Fold the wet & dry ingredients together until combined, but don’t overmix (that’ll create a tough muffin).  Gently fold in the 3/4 cup of blueberries.  Fill muffin cups, then bake for approx 25 minutes at 375.

Recipe inspiration from Baker Street

Lemon Yogurt Cake

It’s amazing how much flavor a healthy dose of lemon zest can contribute. This cake has a brown crisp top, then inside it’s dense and lemony. I personally recommend eating a slice as soon as you pull it out of the oven so you can enjoy the lemony steam this cake creates!

We’ve really been getting our money’s worth from the latest Bon Appetit magazine. The Agave Margaritas were a big success and then we moved right along to this delicious cake. It’s a classic French recipe; the magazine says that it is one of the first recipes French mothers teach to their children. And so I have to assume that everyone in France has this delicious cake recipe memorized. Right? Either way, it’s a great classic recipe.

The lemon zest is added to the sugar, then the two are rubbed together until the oils in the lemon are evenly distributed and the sugar becomes clumpy and moist. The cake comes out of the oven with a shiny brown top, and as you slice it open you’ll release a burst of lemony steam. Enjoy!

Lemon Yogurt Cake

recipe by Bon Appetit

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1 Tbsp lemon zest

3/4 cup whole milk Greek yogurt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract Preheat oven to 350.  Grease & flour an 8 1/2” loaf pan.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
Combine lemon zest and sugar in a large bowl, and rub the two together with your fingers until the sugar is moist. Add yogurt, oil, eggs, and vanilla – stir to combine completely.
Fold dry ingredients into wet and stir gently until  just to combined.
Pour batter into pan, smooth top, and bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before cutting.

Homemade Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt has been quite fashionable these days, and it is easy to see why. It is thick and decadently creamy, even in the low- or zero-fat varieties. It also has much higher protein than regular yogurt (making it my snack of choice all throughout my pregnancy.)

But while Greek yogurt has increased in popularity here in the U.S., it isn't always easy to find. Where I live, it is easy to find conventional and low-fat Greek yogurt, but nearly impossible to locate Greek yogurt that is both organic and made from whole milk. Fortunately, it is very easy to make your own Greek yogurt from store-bought (or homemade) yogurt!

Greek yogurt is much more expensive than regular yogurt, but when you strain the regular yogurt, it decreases by about half. I found that even with the yield being cut by half, I was still saving money (although prices vary by store and region). It was nice to save a couple quarters, but it was especially nice to get such a creamy, delicious, and all natural end-product!
We snacked on our fresh Greek yogurt mixed with local honey and raspberries. This might be our toddlers' new favorite food!

Homemade Greek Yogurt

1. Place a colander over a large bowl, ensuring that there is enough space below the colander for the yogurt to drain and not sit in the whey.
2. Fold cheesecloth four times and place into colander.
3. Place yogurt (store-bought or homemade) into cheesecloth, and then fold ends of cheesecloth over the yogurt so it is completely covered.
4. Place a small plate on top of the cheesecloth-covered yogurt, and something heavy (like a ceramic bowl) on top of the plate. This helps press the whey out of the yogurt.
5. Let drain in the refrigerator for about 6-10 hours, and then remove yogurt from cheesecloth and store in sealed container. You can save your whey for another use (like our Lemony Barley Salad) or discard.

Tzatziki

For our April dinner party, we went a bit Greek, and what is a Greek menu without some delicious tzatziki? Cool, lemony, and creamy, tzatziki is the perfect sauce to drizzle over the delicious lamb patties that we made.

The recipe I used was based off of Ina Garten's recipe over at FoodNetwork.com. I cut the salt based on reviewer recommendations and I started off with Greek yogurt rather than bothering to strain regular yogurt.

Tzatziki

modified from Ina Garten's

Ingredients

• 16 oz Greek yogurt (I used Oikos)
• 1 cucumber, unpeeled and seeded
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh dill
• Pinch freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Grate the cucumber and toss it with 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt; place it in a sieve, and set it over a bowl. Let drain for an hour.

Put the Greek yogurt in a bowl. Squeeze as much liquid from the cucumber as you can and add the cucumber to the yogurt. Mix in the sour cream, vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, dill, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Serve chilled or at room temperature.