Cooking and Baking with Yogurt & a Cookbook Review - Yogurt Every Day

We received a review copy of "Yogurt Every Day" from Penguin Random House but were not otherwise compensated. All opinions in the following post are our own.  To WIN a free copy of the book, enter the Giveaway at the bottom of the page.

When I heard that there was the possibility to review the cookbook Yogurt Every Day by Hubert Cormier, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy. Almost every day, my mid-morning snack is composed of a bowl of plain Greek yogurt, chopped fruit, granola, and a drizzle of honey or maple syrup as a topping. I just love it! Moreover, if you search the word "yogurt" on our website, you end up with a pretty good number of recipes, mostly baked goods. I've been baking with yogurt for a long time and I appreciate how versatile it is. So you can imagine how excited I was to review a cookbook whose central, main, focus was yogurt. Actually, the first thought I had was "why didn't I think of making a cookbook with recipes that include yogurt!?!", lol. Oh well, now it's done. And it's done well. If I had not received a review copy of the book, I would have most definitely bought it myself.

Chapters

The book starts with a quick history of yogurt, then explores its health benefits and explains why, among all the types of yogurt, he recommends eating the Greek yogurt. Which is exactly what I buy, eat, and use: plain Greek yogurt, no vanilla, honey, fruit, or "hoopla" yogurt for me. It seems Hubert and I are on the same wavelength. And it's good to know, that Greek yogurt is high in proteins since I'm often concerned about my daily protein intake.

Before diving into the Recipe section, an informative chart tells you how to integrate yogurt into your favorite recipes, substituting it for other fats. At the end of the book, the Index in alphabetical order is a great tool to finding the recipes that you are looking for. Visually, the pictures are beautiful and really entice you into the recipe and give you that feeling of being welcomed into somebody's home.

Recipes

"The Recipes" section starts with The Basics: "Essential Recipes to make Yogurt at Home" (page 13), "Making Yogurt without a Yogurt Maker" (page 15), "Making Yogurt Using a Slow Cooker" (page 17), and recipes to make: "Coconut Yogurt" (page 18), "Yogurt Mayonnaise", "Strained Greek Yogurt" (page 19). I'll definitely go back to these basics, now that I have the book, and one day soon I am going to attempt my first homemade yogurt.

The Recipes are divided into:

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Snack

Dessert

And the recipes in the book are also accompanied by nutritional information to track daily intake values.

I am so glad he has listed these 5 categories because I am a believer of eating 5 small, healthy, meals during the day, instead of having a non-existent or quick breakfast, skipping lunch, avoiding snack time and then devouring thousands of calories in one meal, at dinner time. Also how much easier it is for my body to digest healthier and small meals throughout the day.

Since our blog is composed of a cooking duo, Loreto and I, we decided to each try one recipe.

Tested Recipes

Loreto chose: "Breakfast" and the recipe for "Mediterranean Burritos" (pag.41).

L.: I chose this recipe because I love the idea of having a breakfast burrito. The use of the yogurt in the egg mixture intrigued me and I was interested to see how the yogurt affected the texture and taste of the eggs. I also like the look of this burrito with the pale green color of the spinach tortilla, not to mention that this recipe was filled with healthy ingredients like ground cumin, avocado, and black beans. 

Overall the burrito was good I would say not intensely flavored but on a mid-range scale. One problem I encountered was the amount of water that was emanating from the scrambled eggs due to the yogurt and then the salsa. When scrambling the eggs in the pan and adding in the yogurt, a good pool of water began to form. I kept removing the water from the pan until it was gone. I then added the salsa and again water began to form. In my opinion, maybe I should have chosen a really thick Greek yogurt, or strain it, or even add the yogurt into the eggs when they were finished cooking. The salsa I would just use as a condiment, I even thought of spreading the yogurt on the tortilla instead of adding it to the egg. All in all, I would try it again and experiment with it, because I do like the fresh flavors and healthy aspect of the "Mediterranean Burritos", along with the ease of this recipe.

The recipe I tested out of the book was the "Brownie Bites" (pag.166). Of course, I hear you saying, you are the "baker" and it seems like you have a soft spot for dessert. All true.

The recipe is easy and straightforward. Applesauce is not something I aways have in the pantry, so I had to get it before deciding to bake. I did want to follow the recipe exactly without making any change, but in the end, I had to change the baking option. I have a mini muffin tin but I wanted to maintain the square or rectangular shape and since I do not own a financier mold, I baked it in an 8-inch square dish and then cut it into bites.

I love the addition of the melted chocolate to the cocoa in the batter, it makes for really deliciously decadent brownies. The yogurt makes the batter soft and a bit spongy, if you are a lover of the chewy, fudgy, brownies this recipe might not be for you. I like them better this way, they are moderately sweet, light and moist and very chocolatey. And they still melt in your mouth. I will definitely make them again.

Brownie Bites

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• Total Time: 40 minutes

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Description

Recipe courtesy of Penguin Random House Canada. Copyright © 2017 Hubert Cormier. All rights reserved.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• ¾ cups (180 ml) all-purpose flour
• ½ cup (125 ml) cocoa powder
• ½ tsp (2.5 ml) salt
• ¼ tsp (1 ml) baking soda
• 1 cup (250 ml) brown sugar
• ½ cup (125 ml) unsweetened applesauce
• ½ cup (125 ml) plain Greek yogurt
• 2 ounces (60 g) chocolate chips (or dark chocolate chips), melted
• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp (30 ml) vegetable oil

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C).
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda.
3. In another bowl, combine the brown sugar, applesauce, yogurt, melted chocolate, eggs, and vegetable oil.
4. Using a spatula, gradually fold in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
5. Pour the batter into mini-muffin cups or mini-financier molds, and bake for 7 to 8 minutes.

Notes

Hubert's Tips: You can also bake these brownies in an 8-inch (20 cm) square dish, but make sure to increase the cooking time to 30-35 minutes.
Nutritional value (for 3 bites): Calories: 191; Total fat: 6.4 g; Saturated fats: 1.9 g; Cholesterol: 41 mg; Sodium: 59 mg; Carbohydrates: 31 g; Fibers: 2 g; Protein: 5 g.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 6-8 servings

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BOOKSHELF WORTHY?

If you love yogurt and want to find new ways to incorporate it into your diet with easy to follow, quick and reliable recipes, this is the book for you. I am happy to have it on my bookshelf and I will go back to it often to try as many recipes as possible. First on my list are: the Cauliflower Cream (page 60); the Updated and Improved Sandwiches section (pages 72-73); the Goat Cheese, Grape, and Pecan Balls (page 150), the Key Lime Tartlets with Speculoos Crust (page 170).

Yogurt Every Day

Author: Hubert Cormier
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Appetite by Random House
ISBN: 978-0-14-753042-4

Acknowledgement

Recipes courtesy of Penguin Random House Canada. Copyright © 2017 Hubert Cormier. All rights reserved.

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Disclosure

We received a review copy of "Yogurt Every Day" from Penguin Random House but were not otherwise compensated. All opinions in the post are our own.