About a couple of weeks ago I made this other ricotta cake version, this one with apples and blueberries. It was great too but the lemon elevates this cake to a different level. So worth trying this version.

I also added poppy seeds to the batter but you don’t have to if you don’t want to. This cake batter is quite versatile so I think you can even try other flavors if you like. Peaches may work rather well I think!

On another note, I am still in Thailand. I have been here for two weeks already and I have experienced amazing things thus far. The culture, food and topography are of this world…and let’s not forget about the beaches and islands.

Going to culinary school learning authentic Thai cuisine and exploring all the amazing islands of the south has been nothing but breathtaking and amazing. A trip that I will for ever remember.

I am going to be doing a couple of post about this trip because it is too much information to share in just one so stay tuned. I will be posting recipes that you will never be able to learn in the U.S, as many of the authentic Thai cuisine is only taught in the country from local chefs. Priceless cooking lessons to say the least.

Anyhow, I leave you with this amazing recipe that I hope you get to try soon. The minute I get back to the U.S I will be making this one on top of this other Asian cheesecake I had in Tokyo that was to die for. So good…

Enjoy!

Lemon blueberry ricotta cake

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup coconut oil, room temperature
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp aluminum free baking powder
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup blueberries, I used frozen
• 2 tbs poppy seeds
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
• Lemon zest, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 8 inch round baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

Combine the sugar and coconut oil in a stand mixer. Add the vanilla extract, eggs, ricotta and lemon juice and combine. Add the flour, poppy seeds, lemon zest and baking powder and combine.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan and arrange the blueberries over the batter. Bake for 45-55 minutes. I baked mine for 50 minutes.

Let the cake cool in the pan before serving. I keep my cake in the fridge covered but you can keep it in the kitchen counter for up to 1-2 days.

NOTE: I placed my cake under the broiler for 3 minutes to brown the top a bit more but this is not a necessary step!

The post Lemon blueberry ricotta cake appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

I haven’t been making cake recipes for a while now but since Valentine’s day is just around the corner I have been able to make two cakes in the past week. My family like their sweets so I always try to make something healthier for them to have and this was just perfect.

For this blueberry apple ricotta cake I used Truvia Brown Sugar Blend for my diabetic friends. I try to make at least one recipe for them each month so this cake is for them.

I actually used frozen organic blueberries, since I always have frozen berries on hand, but you can use fresh blueberries if you like. I also used apples but you can use pears or even peaches. I think it would be just fine with either one.

I thought to add some unsweetened shredded coconut to the batter since I love coconut so much but I think I will do it the next time I make it.

Well there is not much to say about this super amazing blueberry apple ricotta cake. It is very simple to put together. It may look a little bit elaborate but it isn’t by any means. I promise. If you know how to slice apples you are good to go so give this cake a try.

Enjoy!

Blueberry apple ricotta cake

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 8 servings

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup coconut oil, room temperature
• 1/4 cup Truvia brown sugar blend (or 1/2 cup coconut sugar)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp aluminum free baking powder
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup blueberries, I used frozen
• 2 apples, made into slices
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup ricotta cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 8 inch round baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

Combine the sugar and coconut oil in a stand mixer. Add the vanilla extract, eggs, ricotta and milk and combine. Add the flour and baking powder and combine

Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan and arrange the sliced apples followed by the blueberries. Bake for 40-50 minutes. I baked mine for 45 minutes.

Let the cake cool in the pan and serve.

NOTE: I placed my cake under the broiler for 3 minutes to brown the top a bit more but this is not a necessary step!

The post Blueberry apple ricotta cake appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

Granted I used quite a bit of garlic for this roasted garlic spinach white pizza but when you roast garlic the flavor kind of becomes a lot milder. Don’t be afraid of all the garlic in this recipe, well unless you don’t like garlic!

I used Cascadian Farm organic spinach. I love their products.They not only have organic fruits and vegetables but they also have granola bars, fruit spreads and much more. You can browse their many products here. Besides having top of the line products they are also enrolled on their non-GMO project. Something that I actually love since it gives me peace of mind when eating their products.

I don’t buy everything organic but the products that I always do are the ones in the dirty dozen list such berries, apples, potatoes, spinach and such.

Fridays it is usually pizza night in my household. We sort of skip it sometimes but for the most part I always make pizza on Fridays. This roasted garlic spinach white pizza I think has become one of our top contender pizza recipes simply for the fact that we love garlic and spinach.

What is your favorite pizza recipe? I want to experiment with more variations so I welcome ideas if you have some!

On another note, I am thinking of developing an app for my blog. I have thought of adding categories for especial diets such as vegan, gluten free, diabetic etc as well as shopping lists, does anyone have any input as to what would they like to see in the app? I would want to come up with something practical so if you have any ideas I would like to know about them, after all the app is for you!

Anyways, I hope you like this roasted garlic spinach white pizza, my kids sure enjoyed it. I added some pepper flakes for the adults for some added heat, it was to die for.

Enjoy!

Roasted garlic spinach white pizza

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 2 pizzas, 16 slices

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 4-5 heads of garlic
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 2 whole wheat pizza dough
• 32 oz part skim mozzarella cheese
• 16-22 oz ricotta cheese
• 20 oz Cascadian Farm frozen spinach, thawed and liquid squeezed
• Pepper flakes, optional

 

Directions:

Heat your oven to 400°F. Use your fingers to peel away all the loose layers around the head of garlic. With a knife, cut off about 1/4 inch from the top of the head to expose the cloves.

Drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the exposed surface of each garlic head. Wrap the garlic in aluminum foil and roast for 30-40 minutes. The garlic is done when a center clove is completely soft.

Let the garlic cool slightly. Press the bottom of the entire clove to push it out of its paper. Place it in a bowl and mash with the back of a fork. Combine the roasted garlic with the ricotta cheese and set aside.

On a flat surface, like your kitchen counter, place some whole wheat flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Roll out your pizza dough with a rolling pin. Place the pizza dough onto the pizza stone making sure you reach the edges. You can also use a pizza baking sheet or a cookie sheet. Repeat this with the second pizza dough.

Spread half of the ricotta cheese mixture over each pizza dough followed by the mozzarella cheese and spinach. Bake the pizzas at 425F in a preheated oven for 18-2o minutes.

When the pizzas are done top with pepper flakes if using. Serve immediately.

The post Roasted garlic spinach white pizza appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

The cake was super moist and delicious, and I think this will be a cake that I will be making often.

As you can see in the pictures some of the blueberries were covered in flour. I must confess I failed to dry them after I washed them so while they got tossed in the flour they developed a thick floury coat….. HINT….. dry them well after you wash them :-)

Anyhow, I hope you like this ricotta and blueberry cake as much as we did.

Enjoy!!

Ricotta and blueberry cake

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon aluminum free baking soda
1/2 cup unrefined sugar + 2 tablespoons, you can use 3/4 cup if you like
1 cup ricotta cheese, I used low fat
2 organic eggs
1/4 cup low fat milk
Juice of two limes
1 to 1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease and flour a springform pan and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, with a wire whisk, mix eggs, sugar, milk, lime juice and cheese. Add flour, baking soda and baking power.

Dust blueberries with 1 tablespoon of flour to prevent berries to sink to the bottom of the cake. Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle berries over batter.

Bake for 55-60 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before removing from the baking pan to cool completely on a wire rack.

Nutrition facts calculated based on the recipe giving 8 servings.

The post Ricotta and blueberry cake appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

Rustic ricotta fritters

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 lb reduced fat ricotta cheese
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons of reduced fat milk
1 tablespoon orange extract, can be omitted
Zest of 2 lemons
1 pinch of salt
Canola oil for frying
Powdered sugar

Directions:

Mix together the eggs and sugar. Add the ricotta, milk, orange extract and lemon zest. Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the egg mixture. Beat just until smooth.

Fill a deep fryer pan with oil, at least 3 inches deep. Heat oil and drop dough with a teaspoon into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from the oil and drain on a plate covered with paper towels.

Let cool for 5-10 minutes before dusting with powdered sugar and serve.

The post Rustic Ricotta Fritters appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

All right so this is the first time ever I have made an Italian version cheesecake with ricotta cheese, and let me tell you how easy this was, well almost everything I make is really easy anyhow. Well the fact that this cheesecake does not have a crust saves a lot of time.

The mixing, preparing takes about 5 minutes and you are done. The cooling of the cheesecake is what takes the longest. I baked it in the evening and it was ready to eat, nice and chilled, the next morning.

Super Easy Italian Cheesecake

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of ricotta cheese
• 6 eggs
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour, you can use regular flour
• 1 cup of unrefined sugar
• Zest of three lemons
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon of orange extract, or zest of two oranges

Directions:

Heat oven to 325 F.

Combine cheese and sugar in a stand mixer or food processor. Add two eggs at a time and combine. Add flour, vanilla and zests. Do not over mix trying to make the batter smooth, this prevents cracking when baking.

Grease a spring form pan with butter up the sides and sprinkle with flour. Bake for 1h to 1h and 30 min, depending on the oven. I normally bake mine for about 1h and 30 minutes. Make sure the cake is lightly brown like in the pictures.

After turning oven off, leave cheesecake in the oven for 30 minutes to cool. Cake will drop. Cool for another 30 minutes out of the oven. Chill in fridge for 6-8 hours.

Before taking cake out of the baking pan, loosely run a sharp knife around the edges. Enjoy.

TIP: I actually add 1/3 cup of raisins to the recipe. We like it better that way. If you like raisins you should add them, you will not be disappointed.

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