There are days, even in the summer, when I crave to bake something. It’s not because I’m craving something sweet, but it’s because I’m craving the act of baking, of making the kitchen smell lived-in and cozy despite the summer heat, mainly because there’s a lovely breeze coming in the morning and it’s still quite possible to bake in comfort at that time.
This recipe is adapted from an earlier version. It’s a recipe I’ve been testing and experimenting with for many years and I finally feel like I got my recipe just the way I want it right here. It’s delicious for breakfast with coffee or cappuccino, or a dessert after a light meal. As a dessert, I might serve it with a dollop of creme fraiche.
1/4 cup tiny blueberries, fresh or dried. If dried you might want to reconstitute them in water before starting this recipe (drain off all water before using).
Directions
You’ll need two equal size (large) mixing bowls for this recipe, but you don’t need any electric appliances, as I think a wooden spoon is just fine for mixing things. If you want to use an electric mixer for the wet ingredients, you can but don’t over-mix them.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit/
Grease (with butter) and flour a rectangular baking pan.
Mix all of the dry ingredients in one bowl. In a separate bowl, mix all of the wet ingredients, starting with the eggs and whisking in the oil last. Keep the blueberries separate until the end.
Slowly pour the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix each time a little dry ingredients are added. Mix until all the lumps are removed. Slowly fold in the blueberries with a spatula, but don’t crush them.
Gently pour the batter into the greased pan.
The texture is a bit grainy, which is how I really love it. The almond meal does that.
One of the very first recipes I ever created for Suhoor (early morning meal before a fasting day) was this Very Berry Smoothie. It incorporates such healthy ingredients, including berries which are full of antioxidants. The original recipe is in my first cookbook, Summer Ramadan Cooking, which is available on Amazon.
This video is sponsored by one of my favorite online shops to procure a lot of my organic spices, salts and other ingredients, Mountain Rose Herbs.
To top the smoothies, I love to use freshly chopped nuts like almonds or pistachios. You can get halal-certified pistachios in the ad below.
A very berry smoothie with blueberries and strawberries is chock full of antioxidants
Avocados fall into the category of my favorite foods on the planet. They’re so nutritious, full of good fats and now being called a super food. I’ve been eating them for their wonderful good fats all of my adult life. When I moved out to California recently, I couldn’t wait to get my hand on the local avocados, and in my mind I thought they would be a lot more economical than in the grocery stores of the Midwest. Much to my surprise, they’re not- and avocado toast at some local cafes can be upwards of $13 per sandwich! Not cool, California…
Well, avocado toast is the easiest thing on the planet to make yourself, if you like. My California twist involves a little red pepper, Himalayan salt and extra virgin olive oil.
Ingredients for California Avocado Toast: 2 pieces of bread, 1-2 large avocados (one per sandwich), extra virgin olive oil, sea salt or Himalayan pink salt, red pepper flakes
Simply toast or grill your bread of choice and brush a little extra virgin olive oil on each piece.
Remove the pit of one large, ripe avocado and mash the flesh in a bowl.
To the bread, add spring greens or arugula, then a handful of the mashed avocado on each piece of bread. Drizzle with olive oil.
Add a pinch of salt (Himalayan or sea salt) and a pinch of red pepper flakes on top, as well.
My morning food routine has changed quite a bit in the last year. When I first came to Turkey, I began eating the typical Turkish breakfast spread shortly after waking up: a couple of eggs made with veggies, a side of olives, cheeses, Turkish tea and other things like jam or honey if I had them.
As time’s gone on, however, I’ve wanted to lighten things up a bit. It feels harder to to eat a full breakfast soon after the morning prayer it feels like my body needs time to get a little hungry. Instead, I now have some hot lemon water (perfect because lemons are in season now), my black seed & honey mix, a small banana, a few dates and dried figs, if I have them.
It’s more than enough and I’m good to go for a while.
Are you into intermittent fasting? It’s something that has become so popular these days, but I’ve not gotten into it as a regiment…just the fasting days of Ramadan- although it is sunnah to fast on Mondays and Thursdays- something I would really like to get into the habit of doing…
Do you eat a big breakfast? Small one? None at all? Let me know in the comments below..
If you’ve watched my Facebook Live video series with Dr. Madiha Saeed, you’ll probably know a little bit about this recipe and why it’s appearing here- because it’s a total family favorite- and now passed on to more family and friends.
Dr. Saeed started bringing this Pumpkin Cake to me to try quite some time ago and to show me how a non-dairy, non-wheat based “sweet” or treat could be healthy and delicious and easy to make –and something I would actually enjoy making and eating regularly.
And that’s exactly what this is- believe me, you just have to try it. You really won’t believe how good this recipe is and it will change the way you think about baking. I’m actually relieved that I can go dairy-free (if you don’t use ghee) and wheat-free and still have something to drink with my coffee or tea in the morning and afternoon- regularly.
My favorite season of the year is Fall/Autumn. I look forward to wearing cozy sweaters, sitting around a fire outside and taking walks in nature to appreciate the changing leaves and brisk, cool weather. I also look forward to using all the amazing produce from the Fall harvest: pumpkins, squash, nuts, seeds, apples, warm spices. Oh, the things that can be cooked and baked and how wonderful the house smells with cinnamon and nutmeg in the air…
Bursting my pumpkin spice bubble is the fact that here we are in September and unfortunately it hasn’t felt like Fall here lately at all. It’s been hot, humid and dry – a somewhat expected phenomenon in the Summer, but not so much in September. Regardless, I am hopeful that the more expected weather will come as predicted later in the week and that’s why I’m forging ahead with my latest baking project for Pumpkin Yoghurt Bread using Mountain High Yoghurt, which is gelatin-free and halal-certified.
If you’re wondering why it’s important for something like yogurt to get a halal-certification, you can read more about that here in my recent blog post where I explained that and it’s the reason for working closely with them to utilize these products in my cooking, baking and everyday consumption.
In addition to the main ingredient, Mountain High’s Whole Milk Yoghurt (if you prefer fat-free they also have that variety) which helps makes this bread moist, there is also an addition of easy-to-find healthy, wholesome ingredients that go into it:
Raw cane sugar, baking powder, spices, orange peel…
Raw organic almonds (the taste and smell is way different than the conventional), walnuts, pumpkin seeds…
Bread flour, hazelnut, walnut OR grape seed oil, pumpkin puree and organic free-range eggs…
The instructions to make it are super easy but should be followed carefully as baking is different from cooking in that it follows a more technical and scientific approach to testing to achieve the right taste and bake time for the desired outcome.
I use two bowls- one larger and one smaller. This may seem like an insignificant detail but it matters so much. I’ve been making this type of bread for many years and if you flip flop this step (by not adding dry ingredients TO the wet ingredients), for some reason it just doesn’t turn out the same.
I start out with the wet ingredients in a large bowl since we’ll be adding the dry ingredients To this one. I start out first by whisking together eggs, the Mountain High Yoghurt, pumpkin puree and the oil.
All of the dry ingredients go into the smaller bowl (which is more of a medium-size bowl) and includes the spices and the nuts which should be roughly chopped.
Yes, you can do all of this in a stand mixer, but it’s way easier in bowls, in my opinion. You do need a strong whisk to do this, however, since the dough can get a little heavy.
Smells like Fall once you get to this step! Next is the preparation of a bread loaf pan. It should be thoroughly greased with butter and flour so that the bread can slide out nicely after it’s baked.
If you want a more buttery top you can melt a little butter or ghee on top and pour it over before it’s baked.
When it comes out, it smells fantastic and if you let it cool for about 20 minutes it’ll be easier to slice or get out of the pan as a whole.
What I love about this bread is that it’s a real health food, especially for breakfast or snacks. There is no need to look further than your own kitchen- your pantry and your fridge – for the ingredients to put this together yourself, rather than a random coffee house that sells expensive, who-knows-what’s-in-them types of breakfast foods. It’s dense, it’s packed with great ingredients, it’s moist because of the Mountain High Yoghurt addition and the pumpkin puree, all a great combination for creating something you’ll be making over and over again.
Bursting my pumpkin spice bubble is the fact that here we are in September and unfortunately it hasn’t felt like Fall here lately at all. It’s been hot, humid and dry – a somewhat expected phenomenon in the Summer, but not so much in September. Regardless, I am hopeful that the more expected weather will come as predicted later in the week and that’s why I’m forging ahead with my latest baking project for Pumpkin Yoghurt Bread using 
