The past few weeks I've been on a bit of a yogurt cake kick. It was a cake recipe I used to rely upon during my chalet days, though back then I used a small french yogurt container as the measuring cup. Back in the U.S. where yogurt containers are a bit larger, I found another version in the Chocolate & Zucchini cookbook (and a version of it is on Clotilde's blog). N likes it because it's less sweet and dense than a typical cake, almost more like a very moist snack bread.
While I've stuck to the basic recipe for the most part (which, by the way, is fabulous topped with fresh raspberries and a bit of plain yogurt), my penchant for tinkering has resulted in a few new variations, including the cocoa cake with chocolate chips and fresh pomegranate seeds pictured above. Antioxidant cake, as I called it, was an enormous hit, and as soon as I see fresh pomegranates again, I'll be making it.
After all, it could very well be the cure for my various ailments.
Last time I looked it was early March, and now? I'm trying to come up with creative April Fools jokes.
Suffice to say the month has flown by, a blur of work, occasional powder skiing, and oddly undiagnosable health issues. I'm OK, albeit dealing with the discomfort of not feeling great and not knowing exactly why. However my kind doctor has freely provided all sorts of prescriptions, so as I pack for business travel next week, I have a whole handbag just for my drugs. Not being one accustomed to this sort of thing, I'm having fun trying to remember when to take what. Those pillboxes I see marked with the days of the week (and times) might actually be useful in my case.
Despite general wrongness, I've refused to let it slow me down entirely. I may not be swimming as much as I'd like (I gave up any hopes of competing in the May USMS Nationals a long time ago), but I have rallied for skiing - especially the few powder days we saw in March. And I try to remember that my level of violent activity even now during my sick spell is still a lot more than the average American engages in.
Still, I'm not pleased that my body is crapping out on me so soon.
This week Lake Tahoe finally received one of the epic storms that results in snow days, road closures and lots of snow shoveling. With 3-4 feet in a 24 hour period, and a storm total of around 8 feet, it's been a huge boon for the ski resorts, tourism industry and water supply. I'm pretty sure lots of locals called in sick yesterday, based upon the enormous crowd at the base of Heavenly's Gunbarrel chairlift. While I did pack my camera yesterday, I didn't take many photos, as I was too busy skiing the 3 feet of new snow. A few are below.
We're off to Mammoth tomorrow for a family ski trip. Heard that mountain got some snow too, so it should be a continuation of this week's fun.
