Cardamom Coffee Cake

Cardamom Coffee Cake:

A Near-Perfect Post-Saturday Run Snack!

Coffee cake…it was always a treat in our household. My Mom only made it on special occasions, but when she did, it seemed like it was always gone in a flash! Over the past few months, every now and again I’d all of a sudden crave coffee cake. Fortunately, it takes time to bake, so I never actually followed through with my cravings and let it go… [Read More]

National Sticky Bun Day

Happy National Sticky Bun Day

Brought to you by El Bolillo Bakery; Houston, TX

I’ve recently started following Punchbowl on twitter (my handle is activelifecook fwiw) which tells me all of the odd days that are out there. Well, today was a reason to celebrate…it’s National Sticky Bun Day (2/20/10)! I woke up early this morning, 6:30am to be exact, to surprise my husband with breakfast before he had to go into work. El Bolillo fit the bill… [Read More]

Training Update – Week 18

Week 18: Working Through the Pains…

and the Leftovers…

This week was a recovery week for us…recovery in a couple of ways. Recovering from the Thanksgiving Holiday (plus all of those leftovers, my vegan platter shown above) and allowing our bodies recover from 16+ miles of running over the course of 3 days! Luckily as the week has progressed, we’ve been able to ease back into our normal routine and divorce ourselves from night after night of leftovers! [Read More]

Training Update – Week 12

Week 12: Blueberry Spelt Muffins and Das Boot!

muffin3

My personal training focus this week has shifted from my previous weeks of training. Healing is now my primary focus! Last week I mentioned how I’ve been temporarily grounded from my training by my podiatrist due to tendinitis in my posterior tibial tendon (left ankle). Well, I’ve taken his advice to heart and did something I haven’t done in ages…take a break from exercise (*gasp*). It’s been really hard, I’ve gotten terribly stir-crazy at times, and have slept a lot. However, I’m not going to let this hiccup deter me from my goal and Mark is still going strong, as well as fundraising! [Read More]

Pumpkin Pancakes

Perfect Pumpkin Pancakes:

Two Ways to Please Any Picky Pumpkin Pancake Eater

I’ve been promising friends for quite some time to post my “perfect pancake” recipe that I’ve been using week in and week out for the past 6 months and the day has finally arrived (with added seasonal flare)! Bill, this is for you, my “tried and true” pancake recipe that has been pleasing my tummy for months, step by step in pictorial form. These pancakes are healthy, tasty, and reheats like a dream as leftovers! With a seasonal twist of pumpkin, these can’t be beat for healthy eating for the fall… [Read More]

Training Update – Week 10

Breaking Records and Feeling Sore!

It’s been an interesting and tiring week in our household…our schedule pretty much has been: work, run, eat, sleep, repeat! The run part has finally started taking a bit more of a toll on my body, as has allergy season, which has hit me with full impact. We also were breaking records, both Mark and I ran the Susan Komen Race for the Cure on Saturday and broke our 5k race records (Mark by over 3 minutes)! All of these factors put together has yielded a very run down Stef…but not run down enough to keep me from baking for my Monday Bake Sale! This week I was feeling like I was missing home and all that is fall…so…I decided to use apples as the central theme for this week’s bake sale (apple cinnamon cookies shown above)! [Read More]

Training Update – Week 7

Week 7: Out and Back…Trials and Tribulations of the Oil Field (Plus another Bake Sale…)

I apologize for the late posting this week. I spent most of my week this week traveling, to and from New Orleans and to and from a drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. It was my first time offshore, and it ended pretty quickly after it started…drilling became delayed and therefore I was no longer needed out there and was asked to return in a “week or so”. But all of this travel didn’t stop me from my Monday Bake Sale (cinnamon sugar theme week) or from my training! It did however, require some modifications from me… [Read More]

Training Update – Week 5

Bring on the “Hills” (and the Baked Goods)!

This week started our second month of training and with that came our second third track practice where we were charged with a new challenge…hills! Everything else has been pretty quiet…we were unable to climb this week due to the pickup of our old fridge to be delivered to my parents in Pennsylvania (took forever). We’ve been really busy with training and work, so we actually had a whole 2 day period where our television wasn’t turned on at all (it’s normally on for only ~30 min/day right now…will change with the advent of College Football season). Fundraising has gone well this week, with the theme being contrast…Deborah Madison’s Banana Oat Muffins (diabetic-friendly) and Honey Whole Wheat Poundcake with Blueberry and Lemon Icing (shown above). [Read More]

Training Update – Week 4

Week 4: Another Week Down and Some Great News…

Week 4 Video

We’re now in the process of closing in on our first full month of training and so far, so good! My shin splints are slowly getting better (yes, I know rest is best, but I am taking it easy) and our mileage is slowly increasing…Fundraising has hit a bit of a lull, but I think it will naturally have its ups and downs during the season (but still baking…read on for a tasty Cherry Oatmeal Bread recipe). We also got some great news this week from my family that I’ll share with you further in this update! [Read More]

Training Update – Week #3

Challenges Begin and a New Tasty Quick Bread Recipe

Week three has come and gone with some success, and some new challenges posed to us. Fundraising has gone well and we are settling well into our schedule (as has our new pup, Sasha). However, I’ve had a reoccurring overuse injury that I hope won’t slow me down in the weeks to come… [Read More]

Active Life Cooking