Pumpkin Passion

Happy New Year! There’s so much exciting pumpkin news to report already. In fact, by noon on January 1, 2010, I already had something to share.

For reasons that are currently beyond me, Shannon and I decided to go the Rose Parade. We were supposed to go last year but the 4 a.m. alarm was promptly turned off and ignored. This year we got all riled up to go and managed to get ourselves out of bed at an ungodly early hour. I’d never been and Shannon hadn’t been since childhood. It just sounds like something you’ve got to do at least once if you live in Southern California. Why not?

Here’s why not: We had to wake up at 4:00 a.m. in order to get dressed and drive to Union Station by 5:30 a.m. We saw the sun come up on the packed Metro Gold Line ride from Union Station to Pasadena. Then we walked and walked and walked to find a place to stand that did not have the stench of bacon wrapped hotdogs cooking upwind from us. Stumbling out of a bar at 2:00 a.m., the things don’t smell as bad, but OMG! SERIOUSLY! I do NOT want to smell a bacon wrapped hot dog at 6:00 a.m.! Do other places have bacon-wrapped hot dog vendors? Please someone tell me!!! I need to know!

Finally, we found a spot in a doorway of a used bookstore. As we stood there with all the many sleepy people who were crazy enough to sleep out on the streets of Pasadena just to be 8 feet closer to the floats than we were, 6 teenagers came and stood next to us. This was our second mistake (the first was waking up). We should have moved when they first started to get annoying, but we felt like we’d already staked this spot out and it was ours, dang it! So, when a few of them left and came back with bacon wrapped hotdogs we cringed but stayed put.

Another thing to know is that there was a walkway between us and those in their sleeping bags. It was just a thin path allowing people to get past in a single file line. This tiny empty spot wasn’t wide enough for people to get past without constantly bumping in to us and others. Hours and hours of crowds bumping in to me while I’m just trying to take a couple of pictures of the floats wore on my sleepy nerves.

The entire combination of annoying teenagers (I mean REALLY annoying, not the typical level of teenage annoyance), stinky people who hadn’t showered in a while because they’d been sleeping on the street; the smell of bacon wrapped hot dogs with the grilled onions that were served with them; the lag time between floats, which lasted as long as 10 minutes; constantly being bumped into by the throngs of people; entitled Orange County parade watchers; standing for 6 hours; no coffee; only port-a-pottys; growing hunger; and the floats looked a lot smaller than they do on television all made us go a little wacky and I may have flipped off the group of teenagers as we left the parade early.

We got the heck out of there before the crowds completely flooded the Metro Gold Line and headed back home. Since we’d been up since 4 a.m. and it was now noon, we decided to stop off at Island’s Burgers for our farewell meal to fatty foods before starting the traditional New Year’s Resolution diet. As we were seated, I noticed their televisions were showing the Rose Parade and better yet they were showing the last float we saw before we were completely fed up and left. We got to see the rest of the parade from our comfy restaurant booth while eating a juicy bacon cheese burger…just like God had intended!

Unfortunately, that’s when we saw the pumpkins on the floats! Dang it! How was I supposed to blog about the Rose Parade with out pictures of the pumpkins! We decided (mistake #3, if you’re counting) to go to the float viewing the next day. After the parade the floats are parked in Pasadena and people can pay to go walk by the floats and see them up close. It sounded like a great idea.

What we didn’t know was how incredibly crowded it gets and how FREAKIN’ hot it was going to be! The place was PACKED and the temperature was unseasonably hot even for Southern California. We were sweating buckets and I even got sunburned. However, I did get pictures of the pumpkins.

There were three floats with pumpkins on them. The first and largest pumpkin display was on the Kaiser Permanente float, “Magnificent Tales of Health,” which had the best pumpkin display and wins the unofficial Pumpkin Passion Trophy. In lesser news, the float also won the official Extraordinaire Trophy. Two other floats also included either decorated pumpkins or actual pumpkins on their floats. I liked the Kiwanis International float titled “Above the Rest.” It won the Craftsman Trohpy and the Isabella Coleman Award for best presentation of color and harmony through floral use. The City of Duarte/City of Hope float titled “Harvesting Good Health” won the Past Presidents’ Award for the most creative use of floral and non-floral elements. I can’t say with 100% certainty that it was their intention to have pumpkins on their float because they kind of looked like oranges.

Please enjoy the photos! It’ll be a LONG time before I go back.

Name: Desert Essence’s Pumpkin Hand Repair Cream
Purchased At: Under my Christmas Tree
Price: $8.99ish
Availability: Year Round

My brain is so very fuzzy! I’m in a post holiday funk and my brain wants to nap and watch HGTV and Season 1 of Glee on dvd. The focus necessary for work has been hard to come by these last few days. The holidays were so fun that I haven’t accepted that they are over. I refuse to take down my Hello Kitty holiday lights handing in my office until it’s humiliatingly necessary . . . perhaps Easter.

My wonderful holiday included being gifted several pumpkin themed gifts and the Desert Essence’s pumpkin hand repair cream is one of my favorites. I’m obsessed with lotion, especially at work because I wash my hands numerous times throughout the day . . . probably because at my desk in where I drink my 8 cups of water a day. This lotion smells really unique and it took me a day or two before I decided that I really liked it. The smell is strongly vanilla and slightly caramel but it is still reminiscent of pumpkin. It’s also not greasy. Good stuff and Thank You Lynn!

Rating: 4 out of 5

Jess at Du Wax Loolu, one of my favorite bloggers, posted this morning that pseudostoops is doing a blog donation giveaway! Not only is pseudostoops giving 50 cents to charity for each comment on these three posts, but now Swistle is in on the fun, and will be adding another 25 cents per comment.

So, head over there, post a quick comment on each of those three posts, and know that you’ve done your part to help someone else, just that little bit. For free!

AND, you can vote on which of five charities should be the one to receive an additional $50 donation.

So, go! Comment! Help! It’s free, and it matters.

And happy holidays!

Photo is courtesy of ctoverdrive. Thank you!

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.

Pumpkins are pushed to the side by Christmas.

Photo courtesy of Jo Naylor. Thank you!

In addition to my love of pumpkin, all things cute, anything with sugar, eggnog, and etsy, I also have a minor obsession with cupcakes. They perfectly combine my love of all things cute and anything with sugar and sometimes they are even pumpkin flavored. The trifecta, however, has never been successfully accomplished. I guess pumpkin cupcakes are so simple that they’re complicated.

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!!!

There’s still so much going on related to pumpkins even though Halloween is just a distant memory. For instance, I’ve recently tried the pumpkin spice lollipops at See’s Candy and their pumpkin truffles. There were more pumpkin truffles at Godiva Chocolates (review coming soon but don’t rush out and buy them–they were WRONG!) and so many pumpkin waffles that it’s ridiculous.

Lately, I’ve been working on the Etsy shop, which is still under construction. I need a better welcome message and profile page. There are also more photographs that I should take and more items to be listed. However, I thought I’d give my blog readers a look at my favorite scarf that I have up on Etsy. It was hand knit with 100% soft merino wool. The colors are a beautiful warm autumnal palette of oranges, browns, and creams. Perfect for any pumpkin lover!

For the pre grand opening of my store I am offering a 20% discount on any item from now until Thanksgiving. Here’s how to get the discount:

1.) First add an item(s) from my shop to your cart and start the check out process.
2.) Enter the code ”Pumpkin Love” in the ‘notes to seller’ and the email address where the revised invoice should be sent.
3.) Complete the order but do NOT go to Paypal to pay.
4.) You will receive a revised invoice, and a link to complete payment, via email reflecting the discount.

Also, what pumpkin treats are you making for Thanksgiving? A simple pumpkin pie or something more daring? I’m making this.

It looks like the pumpkin shortage is over! Can I hear some “Hip Hip Hooray!!” I’ve seen fully stocked shelves in several different stores.

Also, last week the Hungry Girl newsletter made the announcement:

True, it’s been a rough few months of gazing at the empty market shelves where the canned pumpkin should be. But — good news — the pumpkin shortage is OVER! One thing to note: The pumpkin you get from your cans of Libby’s may have a slightly different texture than before (a little softer). However, that kind of thing happens with all-natural products and varies from crop to crop. Who cares? Pumpkin is back!

The newsletter also referenced a Daily Herald article with this tidbit of information, “The grocers said prices of canned pumpkin are essentially the same as last year.”

Let the pumpkin baking begin!

The photo is courtesy of cupcakequeen

It’s November 2nd . . . where did October go? All the pumpkin patches are gone. No more pumpkin festivals to attend. Such a downer. Is anyone else bummed that Halloween is already over?