French Cooking

The kids want to learn about French cooking this year. So after perusing through a few cookbooks, here is the list of what we'll make this year, Lord willing.

Jan - Soups
Feb - Baguette
March - Chicken
April - Eggs
May - Fish
June - Cake
July - Cherry Clafoutis
Aug - Ratatouille
Sept - Croissants
Oct - Crepes
Nov - Cheese (not to make, but to try)
December - Buche De Noel

I've put these down more for myself than anything else. It seems this blog is a great way to store information like this! But, if you have any recipes that fit these categories and are French in origin, I'd love to see them.

What I Discovered Today

I really don't feel so good after I eat chocolate cake. When I spend an hour cycling like a mad woman at the gym, however, I feel terrific. But, I like chocolate cake much more than I like exercise. And I make excuses why I need to eat cake, and excuses why I don't need to exercise!!!

Carrot Cake

My friend Jessica is doing a healthy recipe swap over at her blog. My newest "health" food craze is a sweetener that is much lower on the glycemic index. It's so low that diabetics can use it. In other words, you can eat it and it won't spike your blood sugar levels up and then crash them. Your body processes it more like a complex carbohydrate rather than a simple sugar.

It still wouldn't be great for you to eat tons and tons of it. (It's not a vegetable!) But you can have dessert once in awhile and not totally blow your diet or your health.

If you can't find Agave Nectar at Trader Joes or a local health food store (or want to buy in bulk at a lower price) try Amazon's subscribe and save program. I highly recommend it.

Here is one of our favorite recipes using this amazing sweetener. I made it for a friend's birthday and it was a big hit. It comes from the cookbook Baking with Agave Nectar by Ania Catalano.

Carrot Cake

3 cups finely grated carrots

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1 cup pecans, chopped

2 cups spelt flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 cup agave nectar

3 large eggs

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup nonfat plain yogurt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans.

Mix together the carrots, raisins, coconut, and pecans in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.

In a food processor, blend the agave nectar, eggs, canola oil, yogurt, and vanilla extract for about 1 minute. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir to blend. Add the carrot mixture and stir until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centers of the layers comes out clean. Let cool in the pan, then invert onto a platter (or cake plate). Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

6 Tablespoons butter at room temperature

12 oz. cream cheese or low-fat Neufchatel cheese or combination of both

3/4 cup agave nectar

1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add the agave nectar, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Beat well until smooth and fluffy.

Keeping Track of the Miles

Last spring, I started taking a cycling class at our local gym. As it turns out, I really can only make the class once a week. But we have an exercise bike at home that I can use more frequently. Sean and I have started using it more lately. So inspired by Wendy, Lord willing, I'll post my miles on the bike on the side bar. I'm hoping that this helps keep me motivated to keep on spinning.