Sunday, May 21, 2006

Not muffins




Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook Copyright 2006

1 large egg
2 tablespoons canola oil
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup reduced-fat sour cream
½ cup low-fat buttermilk
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon five-spice powder or cinnamon I used cinnamon
1 ½ cup fresh blueberries I used frozen organic wild blueberries
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoons butter

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 7x11-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
2. In a small bowl, combine the egg, oil and granulated sugar. Whisk until pale yellow, then whisk in the sour cream and buttermilk. In a large bowl, mix together 2 cups of the flour, the baking powder, and five-spice powder. Mix in the egg mixture. Pour the batter into the baking dish and scatter the blueberries on top.
3. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, orange zest, butter and the remaining 1/3 cup flour. Mix with the back of a fork until crumbly, then sprinkle over the batter. Baked until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly.

Makes 12 servings. Per serving: 225 calories, 6 g fat, 27 mg chol, 145 mg sodium, 40 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 4 g protein, 101 mg calcium. 5 Points.
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I didn't want to make muffins again but I admit this recipe isn't all that different than making muffins. You could probably make muffins out of this recipe. At least this recipe was a breath of fresh air after all the oatmeal/oat bran/whole wheat/carrot/apple/etc muffins I've been making recently.

I really like this coffee cake. The blueberries formed a nice gooey layer over the cake, like pie filling but not as sweet. Next time I might try to swirl them in a bit. I used frozen blueberries since I would have had to pay $9 for 1 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries (on sale!) this time of year. I paid about half that for the organic frozen blueberries. Personally I haven't had any really good fresh blueberries in years and I think that the frozen ones have a lot more flavor.

This is a Weight Watchers recipe but 5 points is a lot for a treat and a piece of coffee cake isn't a very filling breakfast. However, it's lower in fat than most coffee cakes yet still flavorful and moist. You could probably play around with the fruit on top - chopped apple would probably work well.

This cookbook was a little disappointing, as most Weight Watcher cookbooks are to me. Except for the 5 ingredient, 15 minute books, the recipes always seem too cutting edge for me. By that I mean they use a lot of the latest trendy ingredients which I can't easily acquire and/or I'm just not familiar with so the recipes don't usually appeal to me right off. I don't think I can truly judge a WW cookbook without being on the plan. If I were really counting points, I would probably appreciate this cookbook a lot more.

I went to a Tastefully Simple party this weekend. Honestly, the products aren't bad but the prices - yikes! A tiny jar (8.8 oz) of red bell pepper sauce was $10.99! Okay, that was the highest priced item but that's ridiculous, even for an organic product (well, 95% organic, whatever that means). A few hours earlier I paid almost $6 for organic uncured nitrate-free beef hot dogs in the grocery store and I thought that was pricey. I did order a couple of things at the Tastefully Simple party because I don't go to many of these parties and I had a good time. But when I think of what I could have bought with that $30 in the grocery store!

Question of the Day: Do you attend direct sales parties? Do you buy anything?

8 comments:

Wanda said...

I haven't even heard of anyone around here having a direct sales party in years. Back 25 or more years ago, there seemed to be more of them, and I went fairly often. Mostly Tupperware parties...Sarah Coventry jewelry parties a couple of times. That's all I can recall right now, although I am sure there were more. Oh... what was that glasswear company??? Those were interesting. And then there were some kind of copper kitchen stuff parties. I went to a number of the glass parties, and a couple of the copper parties. I nearly always bought something, but not always.

MommyProf said...

I detest direct sales parties...the whole idea of manipulating your friends for commercial gain...

So does that mean 5% contaminants?

ThursdayNext said...

I have been to a "Pampered Chef" party and enjoyed it. I just say yes to things I know I will probably purchase; I never go to candle parties or pocketbook parties.

Heather said...

I am invited to quite a few of these parties. I tend to attend or at least buy things from Pampered Chef and Tastefully simple. In TS I buy the jarred spices which are pricey but I get a lot of use from them. I love the Fiesta Dip and the Garlic Garlic. The packaged items have partially hydrogentated oils so I try to stay away from them, but their Cinnamon Muffins melts are to die for!!

Anonymous said...

I also am tired of the direct sales parties. I had a few relatives who were getting into selling so for a while I was receiving invitations every few weeks- baskets, scrapbooking, candles, pampered chef, princess house china and TS. I reached a point where I had to turn down every invitation because it was too expensive. This weekend I got a phone call from someone at church inviting me to a TS party. I felt put on the spot so I did go. Thier products are tasty but $$. I bought the the key lime mix, chai drink mix, and lemon bar mix. I told my husband I'd rather spend $27 on something I can eat instead of a little basket!

Anonymous said...

Since most of you seem way younger than me, does your mother or grandmother remember the Stanley parties about 50 years ago? In our little hometown, we would always go with our Mother. They sold mostly cleaning products, I think. I enjoyed them because I was with "the ladies" and they always had good refreshments!!
In my early married days, the Tupperware parties were abundant. I always went and always bought something because, at the time, that was the only way you could get quality pieces of that type. (Before Rubbermaid was on every corner!)

Jan

The Cookbook Junkie said...

Is this the same company, Jan?

http://www.shponline.com/english/about_party_plan.asp

I don't remember Stanley but I remember my mom having one of these parties (so unlike her). I got sick from eating too many pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting. I got a bracelet and my mother bought laundry detergent so I can't imagine what company sold both!

I only go to the parties where I'll buy something too. I love the Pampered Chef parties. My neighbor is the only one I know throwing these parties and she always serves lots of food which makes me feel pretty generous.

Anonymous said...

Yes, CBJ, I think that is the same Stanley company. A blast from the past! I see they have a much larger variety of products, now.

Jan