Whole Wheat Lemon Cake, Coriander Chicken, Corn Salad, Celery Mary’s & Hot Jalapeño Figs

Weekly Digest No. 2

Welcome to Weekly Digest! This is my weekly post of recipes I’ve been making, food I’ve been eating, and little seasonal notes from the Northwoods. Each week I share five recipes total, three free for everyone, plus two extra for paid subscribers. Every recipe is made with Whole Foods and always created with your health in mind especially gut health, digestion, and whole body healing. Think of it as your weekly seasonal bundle of cozy, nourishing inspiration that makes eating well feel beautiful and effortless.

🌾🍋 Whole Wheat Lemon Cake with Lemon Sour Cream Buttercream

Ive been on a mission to create a high fiber cake recipe that isn’t dense or dry and this is it!! This was the cake I made for my sisters 27th birthday who by the way has a gluten intolerance, meaning she gets pretty severe inflammation and puffiness in her gut, joints and body after eating gluten. Recently we discovered she tolerates some of my baked goods with home milled flour! More specifically the ones where you’re not developing the gluten such as cookies and cakes. So the whole wheat lemon cake was born! All the fiber being in tact in this recipe helps feed good bacteria and increase production of mucin, a protective substance that lines your gut!

I want to add here that milling your own whole wheat flour is SO much better than buying whole wheat. Unless you know you’re buying flour milled within the last week I would stay away from most whole wheat flours because they go rancid a lot quicker than white flour due to the oils in the bran being in tact. So hopefully all my whole wheat recipes will convince you to get a flour mill for your kitchen! :)

What you need:

For the cake

• 600 g home-milled soft white wheat flour (unsifted, bran included)

• 5 eggs, separated

• 2½–2¾ cups sugar (500–550 g)

• 1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter, softened

• ¼ cup sour cream

• 1 cup whole milk

• 2½ tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1½–2 tsp salt

• 5 Tbsp vanilla bean paste

• Zest of 5 lemons

• Juice of 2–3 lemons

For the frosting

• 1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter, softened

• 3–4 cups powdered sugar

• 2–3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

• Zest of 1–2 lemons

• 1–2 tsp vanilla bean paste

• 2 Tbsp sour cream

How to make it:

1. Heat the oven: 325°F. Grease and line your cake pans.

2. Mix the dry stuff: whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. Cream it up: beat butter + sugar until pale and fluffy (5–7 min).

4. Add yolks + flavor: drop in yolks one by one, then stir in sour cream, milk, vanilla, lemon zest + juice.

5. Bring it together: gently fold in the flour mixture

6. Whip the whites: in a clean bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Fold into batter in three additions (don’t deflate!).

7. Bake: pour into pans, smooth the tops, and bake 45–60 minutes, until golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

8. Make the buttercream: beat butter until fluffy, then add powdered sugar a cup at a time. Mix in lemon juice, zest, vanilla, and sour cream until smooth and creamy. Adjust with more sugar (thicker) or lemon juice (looser).

9. Frost + enjoy: spread that tangy lemon buttercream over your cooled whole wheat cake.

🍗🌿 Coriander Chicken Drumsticks

I made these for my sister’s birthday last week and wow. I forgot how good any meat coated in coriander is, especially chicken! This combo of ground coriander spice + a big handful of fresh cilantro (which is where coriander seeds come from btw) makes them taste bright and earthy at the same time. I used a mix of half & half and sour cream in the marinade, it makes the chicken super tender but also a little rich. And then we finish in the broiler to get that slightly charred crispy finish.

What you need:

For the marinade:

• 8 chicken drumsticks

• 2 tbsp olive oil (or ghee if you want it richer)

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, grated

• 2 tbsp ground coriander

• 1 tsp cumin

• ½ tsp smoked paprika (optional but nice)

• Juice + zest of 1 lime

• ¼ cup half & half

• ¼ cup sour cream

• 1 tsp salt

• ½ tsp black pepper

• ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

For finishing:

• ½ cup more fresh cilantro, chopped (to scatter over top)

How to make it:

1. Mix the marinade: In a big bowl, whisk together olive oil, garlic, ginger, spices, lime juice + zest, half & half, sour cream, salt, pepper, and half the cilantro.

2. Coat the chicken: Add your drumsticks and toss until they’re fully coated. Cover and chill at least 2 hours (overnight = best flavor).

3. Roast: Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Arrange drumsticks on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast 35–40 minutes, flipping halfway.

4. Broil: Switch to the broiler for the last 2–3 minutes to get that crispy charred top. Keep an eye so they don’t burn

5. Finish + serve: Sprinkle over the rest of the cilantro right before serving.

🌽🥑 Creamy Corn Salad

I love simple recipes that are full of raw plants but don’t taste like it, you know? A lot of people cook their corn for corn salsa but I left the corn raw in this recipe and it reminds me more of a bean salad but.. make it corn. Which is why I’m calling this corn salad! You can use it as a dip with chips, put it on tacos, or eat it by itself!

What you need:

• 3 cobs of fresh corn

• Handful of cherry tomatoes

• ½ red onion

• 1 small shallot

• 1 clove garlic

• 1 tbsp salt

• 1 avocado

• ¼ cup sour cream

• ¼ cup chopped cilantro

• 2 tbsp chopped jalapeño (depending on spice level)

• 1 tsp chili powder

How to make it:

1. Prep the corn: Cut the kernels straight off the raw cobs and drop them into a big bowl. No cooking needed, raw corn is so good!

2. Chop + mix: Chop up the cherry tomatoes, red onion, shallot, garlic, jalapeño, and cilantro. Toss them right in with the corn.

3. Make the creamy mix: In a small bowl, mash the avocado with a fork until smooth-ish. Stir in the sour cream, chili powder, salt, and pepper.

4. Combine: Pour that creamy avocado mix over the corn and veggies. Give it a big stir, then taste add more salt, pepper, or chili powder if you want extra kick.

5. Serve: And that’s it. Fresh, crunchy, creamy perfect with chips or tacos!

Every week I share 5 seasonal whole food recipes that I’m eating for whole body health. Join The Northwoods Girl community to get the full recipe archive. <3

🍸 Celery Mary’s

What you need:

Juice base (for both versions):