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Pumpkin Almond Cake with Almond Butter Frosting

Pumpkin Almond Cake with Almond Butter

The Pumpkin Chapter

“The rain started late in the afternoon. Adam huddled under his oilskin, waiting for the dark to come, and when it did he walked through the dripping night into the town of Valdosta. His black hat was pulled down over his eyes and his yellow oilskin was strapped tight against his throat.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

It rained again! And snowed in the high Sierras! Our garden has soaked up every last drop, the trees are dropping leaves and it is much colder at night. This dramatic change of seasons has me baking and cooking warm and comforting recipes. Here is a sweet little pumpkin cake that has found a special place on my fall “must-bake” list. (Disclaimer, this list does not include fall pies. For pies there is no list, they are all worthy of making.) There are three cakes I make each fall: Spiced Cranberry Buttermilk Bundt Cake, Brown Sugar Pear Pound Cake and this Pumpkin Almond Cake with Almond Butter Frosting. What sets this cake apart from the abundance of seasonal pumpkin recipes is the almond butter frosting. I would have never thought to pair pumpkin with almond but Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito did and pumpkin cakes will never be the same. The recipe can be found here. READ MORE . . .

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Spiced Cranberry Buttermilk Bundt Cake

Spiced Cranberry Bundt

A Cake for Autumn

“But in California it does ordinarily rain at all between the end of May and the first of November.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

It’s raining today and I couldn’t be happier. By the time I publish this post it will probably be sunny again. But such a nice big rain the first week in November is a very good thing. California is parched and ready for good news. READ MORE . . .

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Roasted Carrots with Fall Spices and Yogurt Lime Dressing

Roasted Carrots with Fall Spices and Yogurt Lime Sauce

Garden Tales

“You can scrape the carrots, her mother said. Is that water hot? Just coming to a boil.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

We put in a small vegetable garden this spring. Yes, in the midst of this monumental California drought, a little garden grew. What an adventure, to see what flourishes and what languishes. My sporadic care and watering was part of spring and summer and now fall. Tomatoes are always dismal, but I never give up trying. The surprise was the mammoth sunflowers and these carrots! I was cutting down the rest of the sunflowers and inadvertently uncovered a huge carrot, and then pulled up lots more. I had no idea they were doing so well or why the carrots grew and beets and potatoes were failures. We had this recipe to celebrate my little harvest. READ MORE . . .

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Betty Pretzer’s Apple Coffee Cake with Sour Cream

Betty Pretzer's AppleCoffee Cake with Sour Cream

The season of apples and cinnamon

“The long Salinas Valley was part of the exploitation. Adam had seen and studied a fine color broadside which set forth the valley as that region which heaven unsuccessfully imitated. After reading the literature, anyone who did not want to settle in the Salinas Valley was crazy.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

Way back when (I am not divulging any dates) I worked for woman who loved to bake. She was single and new to the area so all her baking adventures were shared at the office. She was fiercely independent, having taken this new job, with a new company, in a new community. One of my favorite bosses had just been promoted and she took his place. And she arrived, a feminist in a male dominated workplace. We worked at a factory and I had been able to move from the warehouse to the accounting office. It was a lateral transfer but I no longer had to wear a hardhat or alternate working day and swing shift. We got off to a rocky start. She wanted me to take accounting classes, I resisted, she insisted. In the end she won and I took the classes. READ MORE . . .

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Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Orange Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Orange Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Letting Go

“Do you have many books? Not many here–thirty or forty. But your are welcome to any of them you haven’t read.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

Grasping with all our might we hold on tightly. Until we don’t. We let go. I came stuttering into fall. Didn’t want to let our Indian Summer go. September, early October, I rebelled against all things pumpkin and spice. Late in the afternoon I find myself in the garden searching for straggling, late season tomatoes. They aren’t very good tomatoes; mushy, without gloss, yet sweet. They are not slicing or galette making tomatoes. I tuck them into a full-bodied sauce or hearty soup that’s already simmering and feel good about using them. When I’m in the garden the late afternoon sun warms my shoulders, reaching past my sweatshirt to caress and soothe. The warmth eases the grip I have on the day. My hands loosen, relax as they clammer past the tangle of a busy day for one last tomato. That’s what I’m not ready to give up. But I will let go. READ MORE . . .