Panera has a Pumpkin Muffie–aka: a muffin top–that is quite delicious. It’s soft like a pumpkin pillow.

I’ve learned recently that the description “hipsters” is not as well known of a term as I’d thought. I thought they were like hippies or beatniks. Everyone knows what a hippy is, right? Hipsters, I’ve come to realize, are somewhat of a Los Angeles phenomenon but exist in most metropolitan areas.

My own observations have led me to the following conclusions:

–Hipsters like anything with a curly mustache;
–They love to model Threadless t-shirts;
–Burning Man is their Disneyland;
–They can’t get enough of ice cream with crazy flavor combinations (ex: pistachio hefeweizen, Lychee Guava, brown bread, etc.);
–Their favorite foods are tofu that tastes like real meat and Pho that is overly Americanized and probably contains canned broth.

In Los Angeles, the Brite Spot Café is the hipster watering hole. Essentially, hipsters are to the Brite Spot Café as beatniks were to City Lights Bookstore. The Brite Spot doesn’t look special at all from the outside. Inside it looks like a café the Brady Bunch may have visited in the 70’s—lots of wood paneling.

The food is typical diner food plus a whole lot more. Their menu is extensive but stick with the food that’s closest to typical diner food and you’ll be satisfied. I’ve never had anything horribly wrong at the Brite Spot but I’ve never had anything memorable either . . . except for their desserts. The best peanut butter cupcake I’ve ever had was from the Brite Spot. The do cupcake oh-so-very right!

I wanted to see if maybe they had a pumpkin cupcake, so I visited them recently. I guess I haven’t been there in probably a couple of years. They’ve add a new pastry case that is fully stocked with delicious looking treats. Formerly, they were out of cupcakes more than they actually had them in stock. Now they are plentiful.

I was hoping for a pumpkin cupcake but had to settle for a pumpkin whoopie pie. I’m not a huge fan of the whoppie pie-it’s too dense to be cake and too the-opposite-of-dense to be a cookie. This one was good but not one I’d order again. However, the two cupcakes with purchased were delicious.

For those who want to be able to spot a hipster in their natural environment, this is an excellent article on the phenomenon. This article berates those of us who like to make fun of hipsters.

A few days ago we received a package of lavender and lavender sugar in the mail. It pays to have a relative who works for a spice company. Thanks Anita! Every holiday, we make our spice wish list and she transforms into our own person Spicy Santa. It’s completely awesome.

With my lavender gifts, I quickly set out to bake this lavender pumpkin bread recipe. I may have been a little too eager because both the muffins and the bread were a tad undercooked but they remained delicious even though I had to put them back in the oven for a few more minutes. It is called “lavender pumpkin bread” and not “pumpkin lavender bread” but I would up the amount of pumpkin pie spice to at least 3 teaspoons. The aroma of this baking in the oven is well worth it. Our house smelled warm and delicious for the rest of the day.

We also had an abundance of over-ripe pears and so I also made a batch of this Vanilla Spiced Pear Butter to go with the muffins. I’ve had pumpkin butter and apple butter several times before but I tell ya, nothing beats pear butter. It was strangely perfect with the muffins. It came out as runny as apple sauce but after adding some instant pectin the consistency was more like a thin jam.

I’m going to be eating this for the next few months because Shannon thinks anything with lavender in it tastes like soap but I’m up for the challenge. I love baking!

Pumpkin Spice No-Bake Cheesecake from Gina’s Weight Watcher Recipes
I have enjoyed several recipes from Gina’s Weight Watcher Recipe blog and was looking forward to making the pumpkin cheesecake. This recipe seemed perfect: pumpkin and guilt-free dessert. I’d tried making a similar recipe before minus the pumpkin and was not impressed. Still, my hopes were high. However, the cream cheese was just too strong and tangy. We didn’t finish our slice. Maybe next time we’ll add more pumpkin and lighten up the density with some fat-free whipped cream

Pumpkin & Corn Fritters by Emeril Lagasse
I haven’t eaten many fritters before or I might have know better than to have made this recipe. Essentially these are like a savory pumpkin bread with corn added and then fried. A more realistic name would have been fried pumpkin corn bread. They did have some good flavor but they were just too much. It needed some kind of sour cream chipotle sauce…actually any sauce would have been an improvement. I ate a few of these but most of them went in the trash. Savory fried bread balls are not my thing. However, these Golden Ricotta Pumpkin Fritters sound like a delicious improvement and so do these pumpkin banana fritters.

Pumpkin Waffles by the Pumpkin Waffles Blog
We have also been pumpkin waffle making fools lately and I really do mean fools. The first batch of these pumpkin waffles that I got from a recipe at the aptly named Pumpkin Waffle Blog turned out CRAZY BAD. They were runny and thin and I couldn’t get them to cook without burning in the middle. I had no doubt that I’d done something wrong. Trying out a new recipe early on a Saturday morning without taking the time to drink a cup of coffee beforehand is a bad idea. I gave them another try a couple of weeks later and they were completely delicious. They have the Pumpkin Passion Seal of Approval. Yummmm!

Pumpkin Bread by the Polka Dot Cottage
Hands down, my favorite pumpkin recipe we tried over this past Pumpkin Eatin’ Season was the Pumpkin Bread recipe over at Polka Dot Cottage. I swear that I would not be eligible for a spot on the Food Network’s “Worst Cooks in America”–btw, I HEART Rachel Coleman. I can be a pretty decent cook when I try but I almost messed this recipe up too. I didn’t read that this was a recipe for two loaves, instead of the one gigantic loaf I tried to make. Luckily I realized my mistake shortly after putting it in the oven. I quickly took out the full loaf pan and took out enough batter to make 12 gigantic Costco muffins in addition to the one loaf. Even with this mistake the bread and muffins came out wonderfully. We’ve made this recipe several times and have frozen and thawed the second loaf without being able to tell that it wasn’t freshly baked. It’s moist and delicious. I highly recommend trying this recipe all year long. In fact, I think I’ll make some more this weekend!

Have you ever been to Rutabegorz? It’s a delicious vegetarian friendly restaurant with a funny name. Unfortunately there are only 3 locations and they are all located in Orange County, CA: Fullerton, Orange, and Tustin. Their food is generally healthy but substantial and their menu is extensive. Their salad are amazing and are served in a substantially sized mixing bowl—they’re huge—and their salad dressings are unique and taste homemade.

I’ve been going here for almost 20 years and the food has remained excellent. There are so many great moments I’ve had at Rutabegorz. I met Nomy Lamm at the Fullerton location. She asked my friend and I over to her table and we ended up having dinner with her. It was a memorable night. Mostly, this is my favorite restaurant because it’s where my wife and I had our first date. I suggested we meet there (just in case she was a serial killer) and she was impressed because it was one of her favorite restaurants too. Ahhh…

We went to Rutabegorz again last month and they were in full pumpkin motion. They had pumpkin hummus (only $1), pumpkin soup, pumpkin cookies, and pumpkin beer (only $2). We tried all of it but the beer. The pumpkin hummus was quickly gobbled up but the soup was not a favorite. It was too tasteless and there were canned mushrooms it, blah! The pumpkin cookie tasted like half of a whoopie without the frosting center. Their pumpkin items weren’t their best items but I still love the place.

I’ve ranted several times before about my pet peeve when it comes to pumpkin cupcakes: people treat pumpkin cupcakes like carrot cupcakes. Carrot cupcakes typically have a stronger combination of flavors; in addition to carrots, there are walnuts, raisins and cream cheese frosting. Cream cheese has a naturally sour taste that stands up well to a carrot cupcake. Cupcake shops also tend to top pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting but the flavor of the frosting over powers the delicately flavored pumpkin cake. My search for the perfect pumpkin cupcake had therefore been futile.

This year I’ve had a more successful run with pumpkin cupcake. I’ve enjoyed two cupcakes this year and both are on the same block. Soon all of Los Angeles will have two cupcake shops on every block, which is 3 less than the number of Starbucks currently on every block.

The first pumpkin cupcake I had this year was at Crumbs in Larchmont, CA. Their pumpkin cupcake was different but in a good way. The walnuts on top and the drizzle of chocolate were a nice touch. The frosting may have had some cream cheese but it was very light–if there was any at all. Maybe it was the orange color of the frosting but I kept also tasting some orange flavoring. The pumpkin cupcake was strongly flavored and moist–definitely enjoyable.

Today we went to the Village Pizzeria in Larmont (their pizza is amazing) and we walked past a new coffee shop called the Larchmont Bungalow. We could see their pastry case from the street and it appeared to be filled with yummy looking cupcakes and other sweets.

We decided to stop by on our way back to the car and take a closer look. The cafe is beautiful. There’s a counter full of orchids and a relaxing outside patio. The back half of the café is also a sit down restaurant that serves primarily brunch items and also sandwiches and salad. We saw red velvet pancakes on their menu. What did I just say?!?! YES! RED VELVET PANCAKES.

The desserts are divine looking. We got two red velvet cupcakes, a chocolate ganache, and I ordered the pumpkin cupcake. I also got a cup of coffee that was strong yet devoid of any bitterness–an absolute must try for coffee snobs.

When I came back to the office I meant to wait until at least 3:00 p.m. but that was wishful thinking and so out of the brown bag it went and into my tummy.

I have to say, the pumpkin shaped disk on top threw me a little. I wasn’t sure if it was paper, that foamy stuff used for kids’ crafts, or if it were actually edible. Sprinkles has similar looking dots on top of their cupcakes and they are simply horrible. They’re so bad that you’d think you’re eating a Tiddlywink, blah! Their hand-drawn pumpkin thing was surprisingly tasty. Not too sweet and not hard. I’d describe is as sweet and foamy but it looks a little cheesy–kind of like a grade school Thanksgiving Day art project.

The frosting is a simple buttercream dusted with cinnamon–excellent choice–and the cake is nicely spiced and plenty tasty. I think this is my favorite pumpkin cupcake that I’ve had so far. Also, it’s the LARGEST cupcake I’ve had. This sucker is huge.

A special THANK YOU! goes out to Terrye who purchased both cupcakes for me. You’re sweet!

Question of the Day: Am I the only one who doesn’t like cream cheese frosting on pumpkin cupcakes? Just curious.

Crumbs Rating: 4 out of 5
Larchmont Bungalow Rating: 5 out of 5

The Crumbs pumpkin cupcake photo is courtesy of roboppy. Thank you!

UGH! I’m trying to make a Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle by Paula Deen for Thanksgiving tomorrow but I just hit a major disaster.

I’ve made the recipe twice before and it always got rave reviews. This time I decided to use Trader Joe’s “Deep Dark Gingerbread Cake and Baking Mix” and it was bad…really, really bad. There is soo much ginger in this mix that it burns the back of your throat for a considerable amount of time after you swallow it. It’s just too much! Blah! I even got someone else to try it and they agreed it was really, really bad. I love their “Pumpkin Bread and Muffin Mix” but this is wrong!

Now, I must go out and brave the supermarket to try and find the Betty Crocker version.

Happy Thanksgiving and best wishes on your holiday baking!!!

Disneyland has gone pumpkin crazy! There are pumpkins nearly everywhere you look from the entrance gates, down Mainstreet, all the way to Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. There are simply too many items to mention. Some highlight are the giant Mickey Mouse head at the beginning of Mainstreet (pictured above) and the pumpkins carved with Disney characters surrounding the Walt Disney statue at the center of the park.

They even had a pumpkin Mickey Mouse Hat. Of course, I had to get one with my name stitched on the back. I don’t think I’ve had one of those since I was about 6 years old.

The Nightmare Before Christmas Haunted House is the #1 reason to go to Disneyland this season. It’s simply awesome.

While you’re feasting your eyes on all the pumpkin decorations you can also treat your tummy. There’s a pumpkin latte and a pumpkin cupcake at Blue Ribbon Bakery on Mainstreet. The latte was descent but cold and the cupcake was good but the frosting was similar to what you get with grocery store cupcakes. At California Adventure in the Wine Country Trattoria there was a tiramusu with a pumpkin mousse in a take-home ceramic Mickey Mouse mug. It was simply delicious but didn’t taste much like pumpkin. It tasted much more like banana. I wanted to eat 4 of them for a complete set of mugs to take back home. I probably could have eatten them all because the portion is teeny tiny–there’s a disposable plastic cup inside the ceramic cup. The whole thing is little more than the size of a shot glass but it was yummy and super cute.

Since I could never adequately describe all the many pumpkin items, here’s a little montage:

Name: Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Muffin & Bread Mix
Purchased At: Trader Joe’s
Price: ???
Availability: Year Round

I hope everyone has a Laurel in their office. She’s the person who you bring in something scrounged up from your own cupboard shelves for the office potluck because you want access to her dish and no one else’s. Sometimes, she’ll forget that there even is a potluck and just walk to the grocery store and come back to create the most wonderful salad with items you never would’ve put together yourself. In other words, she’s an awesomely amazing cook.

Today was the end of a big project that several staff members have been working on and to celebrate the completion, she made a full lunch for everyone: salad, pasta, bread, and pumpkin cake. The cake was absolutely delicious (along with everything else, of course). When she told me the cake was from a Trader Joe’s boxed Pumpkin Bread & Muffin mixed I was seriously surprised. This is someone who could take bologna and make it taste gourmet but she swears she just follows the recipe on the box and adds some pecans. The frosting was whipped cream cheese and pumpkin butter. The pumpkin butter really cut the tang of the cream cheese. So yummy!

While I haven’t always enjoyed the pumpkin treats I’ve found at Trader Joe’s, this mix has a great mix of spices and is something you should try if you want a quick but delicious pumpkin cake.

There’s only one thing wrong with Pumpkin Eatin’ Season…it coincides with election season. UGH! Work is unbelievably busy as we try to save California’s Family PACT program and stop Proposition 4 from passing in November. Consequently, I’ve been using my lunch breaks to try and rescue family planning services instead of crafting blogs… Pumpkins must wait for some things. If everyone would just take a moment and look at the “No on 4” and the “No on 8” websites I would really appreciate your effort and I’d feel less guilty about not working on a flyer for “No on 4″ phonebanking!

Even with this crazy schedule I simply had to share my latest find. During a very hectic morning I took a brief mental break and stumbled across Cupcakes A Go-Go‘s website where I found their pumpkin pie cupcake pictured above. They are so freaking adorable. Unfortunately they’re not pumpkin flavored, which is SO nuts! Oh well, Sarasota Florida is too far to get one anyway. I guess I’ll just have to make my own.