THE WEEKEND KITCHEN::The Sweet and The Savory
Monday, October 22, 2012 at 7:39AM 
This weekend brought about vanilla bean scones baked with both spiced vanilla bean sugar and vanilla bean paste. Flecks of vanilla beans dotted the scones, resembling one intense, but tasty, "connect the dots" artpiece.
It also brought about a rustic cake - a remake from the first cake recipe I developed in Berlin this past summer. As per my notes in my journal, I reduced the amount of flour, eggs, and butter. I also used lime zest and juice instead of the lemon zest and juice. The result? A delicious Rustic Yogurt Lime Cake.
The "Rustic" part is due to the fact that I had no mixers available to me in our rental apartment - either stand or hand. I even had to go out and buy a whisk and wooden spoons. Despite those limitations and more, I managed to develop quite a few recipes which I am now finally revisiting and retesting.
After the cake, dinner was next to be made. I went for a European dish known as djuveč in Croatian. Of course, my version is exactly that...one of many versions. I cook the rice on the stovetop while some versions bake it. I add beer which gives the whole dish a nice hoppy flavour. Green bell peppers are my choice as it provides a contrast to the red tomatoes. I also like to top this rice dish with Greek feta and warm up some flour tortillas or naan bread.
Lastly, came the čevapčiće. It was already dark when we got around to grilling these last night, but I managed to take a photo as the seasoned sausage-like ground meat was on the grill.
My favorite from this weekend? The cake...
Reader Comments (6)
Mouthwatering photos! Especially the grilling sausage. Is it lunchtime yet?!
The best recipes are usually those which float around in the constantly changing stratosphere of our mind. They're just too brilliant to fall into a rigid set of measurements and ingredients. :)
I love that you made the yogurt lime cake without a mixer! (Using a stand mixer feels like cheating. Sometimes.) Putting more work into creating something makes it taste better.
I'll have to try tossing some beer into my rice the next time! :D
Thank you Valerie! The "sausages" are something I grew up with. I rarely eat meat, but when I do it's always the best.
With the cakes...I proved to myself this summer that you really do not need a mixer to make cakes rise. The butter was melted and mixed with the infused sugars. Then eggs and flavourings were added. Lastly the flour mixture was quickly folded into the wet ingredients so as to not toughen the batter. I'm hoping to make one of my chocolate cakes today.
Oh, yes. Cooking the rice with beer gives it a different flavour. Tasty for sure. ;)
Beautiful photos as always and I love how that cake looks! It has a perfect crumb and looks super moist 'n light. I love recipes where I don't need to use my stand mixer or a hand mixer.
Thank you Nancy. I was happy with the way this cake turned out. It's great with lemon too!
Looks like you made some amazing food! Scrumptious.
Thank you El. It was a tasty weekend indeed!