From Our Family to Yours...

Low-fat Lemon, Yoghurt and Blueberry cake
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup almond meal (or flour if you don't have ground almonds)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 whole egg
1 egg white
5 tablespoons butter (70g / 2.5 oz)
Grated zest of 2 lemons
1 cup sugar
1 cup low or nonfat yoghurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 punnet blueberries
Juice of 1 lemon
~6 tablespoons powdered (icing) sugar

1: Preheat oven to 350F (175 C) and position a tray in the lower third of the oven. Spray a ring shaped pan with vegetable oil spray.

2: Whisk together the flour, almonds, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In another small bowl, lightly whisk the whole egg with the egg white. Set aside.

3: Cut the butter into pieces and place in an electric mixer bowl. Add the lemon zest and beat for about 1 minute to soften. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat on high speed for about 3 minutes. Dribble eggs in slowly, about tablespoon at a time, beating constantly for about 2 minutes. On low speed, beat in a third of the flour mixture. On medium-high speed, beat in half of the yoghurt. On low-speed, beat in half of the remaining flour. On high speed, beat in the rest of the yoghurt and vanilla essence. On low speed, beat in the rest of the flour. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the blueberries.

4: Scrape into the prepared pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out dry. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes in a rack .

5: Meanwhile whisk lemon juice and powdered sugar to form a glaze. Unmold the cake. Brush the glaze over the top and sides of the cake until all the glaze is used. Cool cake completely before serving or storing.
Cake may be stored for 3-4 days, or frozen up to 2 months.

Calories per serving: 256
Fat: 8.5g

Cesar's Salad

Ingredients
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1 lemon
2 tablespoons anchovy paste
2 romaine lettuce hearts
2 cups homemade croutons
Directions

Croutons: This is one of the keys to this recipe. Start with about 1/2 loaf of a crusty Italian bread with a large cell-structure, e.g. big holes. I really like to use Pugliese or Ciabatta. Cut the bread into cubes of about 1 inch square and lay out onto a a cookie sheet and toast in the oven, preferably under a broiler. Turn the croutons about half-way through to ensure both sides get toasted. The most important thing here is to not over-toast -- you want croutons that are crunchy on the outside and still soft in the center.

Chop the Romaine hearts into sections about 1 inch by the width of each leaf.

Dressing: Squeeze the juice of the lemon into a mixing bowl and add the anchovy paste. I know some people are squeamish about anchovy paste, but the taste really isn't strong here. Ive served this to anchovy haters who loved it. Finally, the paste serves as an important emulsifier in this recipe. Using a whisk slowly drizzle the olive oil into the lemon-anchovy mixture while whisking, all the ingredients should come together in a thick, greenish brown dressing.

Assembly: Place romaine in a large salad bowl. Add still warm croutons on top of lettuce. Pour grated cheese on top of pile and then drizzle dressing on top of whole. Toss and serve.