Comments (22)

By Estela - Weekly Bite, May 20, 2010 7:50 am

I feel like its been years since I last blogged!

It appears someone or something evil hacked into my website. Why oh why would someone do such a thing?!?!!

Apparently it was a GoDaddy/Wordpress thing and happened to A LOT of bloggers.

So… I need you to do me a favor…

If you get any sort of malicious website notice or security threat pop up window on my site, can you let me know?

Thanks!

While my site was being cleansed, I baked you all some cake and took some blurry pictures for you.

This isn’t just any old cake…

Its Vegan Pineapple Date Coffee Cake! (Yes… I know that’s a long name)

This cake has all the good stuff in it! Its got pineapple, its got dates, and has a gentle sprinkle of coconut on top.
One thing this cake doesn’t have….
Coffee!
Isn’t it strange that coffee cake doesn’t have any coffee in it?
It’s actually a cake that was made to be eaten with coffee.

I like to eat it with coffee, with tea, with milk, with water, or with no beverage at all

This cake makes for the perfect healthy snack! I suggest you make it today!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 10 oz crushed pineapple with juice (do not drain)
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 cup chopped dates
• Topping – 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons shredded coconut

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Spray an 8 inch square pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined.

Stir in pineapple with juice, applesauce, canola oil, and vanilla. Fold in dates.

Spread mixture into pan.

Combine brown sugar and coconut. Sprinkle on top of batter.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cook cake completely.

Enjoy!!!!

Comments (23)

By Estela - Weekly Bite, January 22, 2010 8:26 am

This picture says it all…

This picture defines one of my favorite things to do…

This picture says exactly what I’ll be doing this weekend…

Me + a fresh cup o joe + homemade biscotti = relaxation!

Wanna join me? You. Me. Coffee. Biscotti. Relaxation.

It’ll be fun! Are you in?

I have no idea where or how I got this recipe, but gosh dang it I’m so glad I have it.

Anise is a classic flavor for biscotti. It’s one of those flavors that you either love or hate.

It has sort of a black licorice flavor. Lucky for me, I just happen to love black licorice.

Its good. Its delicious. To me… Its perfect.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons brandy
• 2 teaspoons anise extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. I used a silpat and that worked great.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Beat until creamy. Add in brandy, anise, and vanilla extract. Beat until combined. Slowly add in flour mixture. Gently stir in almonds.

Form dough into large ball and cut in half. Form two 2×13 inch logs on the cookie sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Let cool completely.

Reduce the oven temp to 300 degrees.

Slice the biscotti with a serrated knife at the diagonal about 1 inch thick.

Bake for 10 minutes, rotate once, then bake for another 10 minutes. Remove to cooling rack and enjoy!

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Question of the Day?

What’s your favorite way to relax? For me, I take advantage of any form of quiet time to relax If it involves coffee & biscotti, that’s even better!

Comments (19)

By Estela - Weekly Bite, January 2, 2010 6:07 pm

Hello 2010!

Happy New Year to Everyone!

Do you have any family traditions? We have some… but this year we’ve taken it to a whole other level.

Having this cutie pie in our life is what really brought it home for us!

Here she is taking a tub at Grandma & Grandpa’s. Isn’t she cute…

For New Year’s Day my hubby and I thought of two breakfast foods we would love to have in the morning.

My choice was homemade coffee cake. His was homemade biscuits.

So low and behold, New Year’s morning, we had fresh coffee cake and biscuits. (Biscuit recipe to come later in the week)

I was in heaven having a slice of this cake with a fresh cup of coffee. It was delicious!

Streusel Coffee Cake

Cake:

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Streusel Topping:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 stick melted butter

Make streusel topping by mixing all ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a round 9×2 inch deep cake pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon… set aside.

Cream butter and sugar on medium to high speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg, then mix sour cream and vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Spread half the batter in the pan and sprinkle with half the streusel topping. Spread the remaining batter on top and scatter remaining streusel topping on top. Bake coffee cake for about 50 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool on rack for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy!!!

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Question of the Day?

Do you have any special New Year’s tradition? Are there any special food’s you eat?

Don’t forget Monday January 4th… No Diet’s in the New Year!