There is really nothing better than the sounds and smells of baking on a chilly Saturday morning. Sipping hot tea, gazing out the window at fragrant pine trees and a sprinkling of snow, preparing a healthy breakfast spread... This is pure bliss. Nothing comes close to a few days with limited phone service or internet access in its ability to bring me back down to Earth and remind me of the simple pleasures in life. It is one of the only times when I feel truly and completely relaxed, able to savor my morning meal and linger around in my pajamas for as long as I please.

On Friday, we packed our bags and loaded the cooler for a weekend getaway to Lake Tahoe. Along with plenty of socks and sweaters and scarves, I brought with me the ingredients to make Meyer Lemon and Fig Scones. It wasn’t until our 11:30 p.m. arrival that I realized I had forgotten the butter in my freezer at home-- so, other than a quick trip down the hill to the grocery store at 8 a.m., my Saturday morning was perfect. These scones are very unique. I used spelt flour, which is lower in gluten and high in protein and fiber. I also added some toasted almond meal for more flavor and texture. Goat milk yogurt lends itself wonderfully as a fat, and as we’ve seen before, I am a huge fan of cooking & baking with yogurt. Since saturated fats are a rarity in my diet, I am sometimes left with a heavy-stomach feeling after eating them. I find that goat milk products, because of the reduced fat and lactose content even in their whole form, assist my digestion of them; so you’ll notice that I used goat milk butter as well. Feel free to substitute with any butter or yogurt you desire, though. Along with a zested Meyer lemon (from Erika’s Kitchen!) and plenty of dried Mission figs, these breakfast treats were everything I hoped they would be. Scenes from our serene morning:

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Meyer Lemon & Fig Goat Yogurt Scones:

So I realize that ‘moist’ is an over-used description, but I’m hard to please when it comes to scones, and adding yogurt here made for the most soft and pillowy clouds of moisture I have ever met in a scone. I have found my go-to scone recipe, to be sure. Inspired by Capretta's goat yogurt scone recipe.

Ingredients 2 1/2 cup spelt flour 1/2 cup toasted almond meal 1 Tbsp baking powder 1/8 cup turbinado sugar or raw honey 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. ground ginger 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon 2 small eggs or 1 extra large egg 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 2/3 cup whole milk goat yogurt 1/4 pound Meyenberg Goat Butter (about 7.5 Tbsp) zest from 1-2 Meyer lemons (enough to make 1 Tbsp) 8-10 dried figs, chopped Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Chill Goat Butter in freezer until cold.
• Mix flours, baking powder, sugar, salt, ginger and cinnamon until well blended.
• Crack eggs and beat well in a small bowl.  Then add yogurt, lemon zest and vanilla and mix.
• Remove Goat Butter from freezer and grate into the flour mixture with the coarse side of a box grater.
• Use hands to work butter into flour mix until well incorporated.
• Pour in liquids and stir until just incorporated. Add figs and gently incorporate.
• With wet hands, form dough into 8 large rounds and place on a lightly oiled and parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with more turbinado sugar.
• Bake 15-20 minutes, until lightly brown*

*I was at high altitude, so your baking time may be different.

Let's take a trip.

At this point, it doesn't matter where we're going. That's up to you.

All I'm concerned with is what we're going to eat along the way.

For this challenge, I wanted to employ a casual, eat-with-your-hands mentality. We're bringing back the rustic theme and giving it a little south-of-the-border flair. The menu items for this gourmet meal-to-go travel extremely well. They are easy, quick to prepare, and simple, although the flavors are quite the opposite. As usual, I looked for inspiration in the out-of-the-ordinary. I wanted to combine elements that you wouldn't immediately put together, but become surprisingly wonderful friends on your palate. The other requirement is that they had to remain intact in a cooler. Stay tuned for recipes in the next post!

For our main dish on this trip, we have some Black Bean Falafel with a Spicy Dill Greek Yogurt dip. Greek yogurt is wonderful for this. It is smooth, creamy and tangy, and so much healthier than sour cream. With subtle spice, it compliments the earthy cumin in the black bean falafel, while at the same time cooling the fire in your mouth.

Next up: Our side is a Smashed Pea Guacamole with Cilantro, Ginger and Lime. The peas are so fantastic! They give the guac amazing color and really unique texture. Somehow, this guac tasted more creamy to me than usual. It is pretty unique all around, actually, because the fresh ginger takes it up a notch. This is the most interesting guacamole you will ever taste. Another plus: Did you know that green peas are the only source of protein from a fresh vegetable? Normally, we can't call guacamole 'high in protein', but green peas have almost 6 grams per cup. Serve this side with some blue corn tortilla chips.

Our on-the-go dessert and beverage is a Goat's Milk Mexican-Spiced Hot Cocoa with Cinnamon-Sugar Tortilla Crisps for dipping. A rich and creamy cup of hot chocolate is especially necessary with this currently gloomy Bay Area weather. These two elements are wonderful by themselves, but when dunked in your steaming mug, the tortilla crisps are entirely different. Also, I might say that using goat's milk is essential here. It provided a tangy backdrop to balance the richness of the chocolate and the depth of flavor from almond extract and spice.

Transfer everything to individual tupperware containers. The tortilla crisps will be fine in a ziploc bag and the cocoa fares well in a thermos or two.

If you want to use an ice pack, I suggest placing it next to the yogurt dip and guacamole and far away from the hot cocoa. The only utensils you will need for this meal are your hands,

the blue corn chips,

and toothpicks!

Pack it all into your cooler (thanks Foodbuzz!):

And be on your way! Whether you're tailgating, hiking, having a picnic, watching football with friends, or traveling great distances...

Whether by car, by bus, by train or by bike...

I wish you safe travels, wherever the road may take you.

I decided to put my knowledge of cooking with yogurt to good use while making breakfast for the week. As I have mentioned before, I really like to make a healthy batch of chai-spice banana muffins or a loaf of cranberry-apple-pecan bread on Sunday to help make my mornings easier. I challenge myself by attempting to bake my entire breakfast into a bread- everything I would ordinarily include in my fast-breaking meal must be in there. This bread, I might say, is quite successful. It has pretty much all I could ever want: Sweet bananas, tender oatmeal, probiotic-filled yogurt, minimal sugar, ground flaxseed, a little almond butter, and whole-grain flour. The only thing I might add is another serving of fruit on the side. And, ahem, please excuse the blurry photo. I was so excited to serve myself another slice that I didn't try very hard. You understand, I'm sure. I used only spelt flour to make this bread, as opposed to half or three-quarters of the flour amount. Therefore, the bread is really dense, but not lacking in moisture because the yogurt does a fantastic job of replacing fat. It's not too heavy, either. Although related to wheat, spelt flour is easier to digest and doesn't give me the super-full-feeling stomach that wheat products sometimes do. If spelt flour isn't your thing, I've added a suggestion at the bottom of the recipe for reproducing it with different flours. I'm curious about trying almond meal flour next time! Banana Oatmeal Yogurt Bread Ingredients: 1/2 cup old fashioned oats 2 cups whole-grain spelt flour 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. baking powder pinch of salt 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed 2 1/2 small ripe bananas, mashed 1 tsp. vanilla extract 2 Tbsp smooth almond butter 2 Tbsp olive oil 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup organic, nonfat yogurt unsweetened coconut for garnish (optional) Instructions: -Preheat oven to 350. Grease a loaf pan or line with parchment paper. -Combine oats with 1 cup hot water in a small bowl. Stir and set aside. -In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, spices and flax. -In a medium bowl, stir together almond butter and olive oil until the oil is incorporated. Add mashed bananas, brown sugar, and yogurt. Stir thoroughly. -Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and add wet ingredients. Stir just until flour is completely moistened- spelt flour gets tough if mixed too much. -Pour mixture into prepared pan. Lick the spoon because you don’t have to worry about eggs. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a tester comes out relatively clean. Let cool, invert onto a rack, and thoroughly enjoy! *Note- It’s difficult to substitute other flours in for spelt because they will require more liquid ingredients. If you so choose, I suggest using 1 1/2 cups wheat flour, adding 1/4 cup of oil, and perhaps some milk in 1/4-cup increments until you get the texture right. After all, it’s all about experimentation anyway!

This past Wednesday, I was fortunate enough to meet Kate Geagan, author of Go Green Get Lean, and hear her talk about cooking with yogurt. Not only am I obsessed with yogurt and making healthy substitutions in baking and cooking, but I have read Kate's book and I'm a huge fan of her approach. I was really excited to learn about the diverse ways to incorporate yogurt into everyday cooking. The event did not disappoint! Hosted by Stonyfield*, it was held at the Greens restaurant at Fort Mason in the city, and we were served several appetizers that featured yogurt in some way. As always, everything was outstanding! I was so intrigued by the different ways the chef prepared the yogurt. It added such a unique flavor and texture to each dish.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup with a yogurt and basil garnish. Once the soup is done simmering, it is taken off the heat and the low-fat plain yogurt is stirred in.

The ingredients list for this soup is so simple, yet the flavors are so complex! I tasted sweet notes, a subtle spice, and an irresistible creaminess from the yogurt. It tasted exactly like a bisque, and I would never have questioned the absence of cream. I learned that yogurts with a higher fat content hold up better to heat, so when cooking with nonfat yogurt, it's necessary to remove the soup from the flame first to prevent curdling.

Chilled cucumber, heirloom tomato and yogurt salad on toast- cool and refreshing.

Corn Cakes with Chipotle Yogurt Sauce- the perfect contrast between sweet corn and spicy chipotle.

Spinach and Chard Spread with Greek Yogurt on toast- perfectly tart, luxuriously creamy, surprisingly healthy.

Orzo Salad with Zucchini, Mint and Yogurt Cheese

The cheesiness in the orzo salad reminded me exactly of Ricotta! In this unique process, yogurt is strained for 5 hours or overnight and develops a new texture and taste all its own.

After tasting to our hearts' content,we listened as Kate gave us the lowdown on making yogurt part of our daily cooking. She said that yogurt can replace half the fat content of any recipe, providing you with probiotics, B vitamins, protein, and many other important nutrients. She also said that buying organic yogurt is extremely important. If you have limited organic dollars, spend them on meat and dairy. I thought this was a great piece of advice. These days, we have no idea what kinds of hormones and viruses contaminate our animal products. Better to be safe than sorry!

Stay tuned for upcoming posts on more ways to cook with yogurt! For now, here are a few of my favorites:

• Mediterranean Frittata with Greek Yogurt
• Carrot Cake with Greek Yogurt Frosting
• Apple Crisp Topping with Greek Yogurt
• Yogurt and Dill Dipping Sauce for Zucchini Cakes

Other ways I like to use yogurt:

• As a topping for oatmeal, along with fruit and nuts
• Mixed with a little honey as a fondue for strawberries
• As a topping for Buckwheat Blueberry Pancakes

In other news, voting for Project Food Blog is now OPEN! If you enjoy my posts, think I deserve a shot at becoming The Next Food Blog Star, or you're just looking for something to keep you busy on a Monday morning, I would LOVE your support! Click HERE to go to the voting page! *Please note that I attended this event for free. I am not under contract with Stonyfield nor am I obligated to endorse the product or event in any way. See here for more information.