Monday, October 26, 2009
Guest Blogger Ami from feteLA stops by!
I’m so thrilled that for the blog swap, I got paired up with Nikki from the glorious state of New York. As she reveals some NYC insider spots on my blog, I’m sharing with all of you a glimpse into Los Angeles in the fall.
I was so excited to get some snapshots of my city, when I suddenly realized LA in the fall looks the same as any other time of year. Palm tree leaves don’t suddenly change into a beautiful orange and then line the streets; in fact I couldn’t really find any trees that morph into autumn colors. The only reason any trees were loosing leaves is due to lack of water; apparently we’re running low on that out here.
Since my fall idea was out, I decided to take it upon myself to capture some beautiful shots of the city. It was about 85 degrees out this past Saturday (I’m not trying to brag or anything), so I hiked up Runyon Canyon. The hills quickly take you out of the city and into nature. While I was huffing and puffing to get to the top, I had to stop and grab a shot of the beautiful homes that lay atop the hillside and yes, that is the Hollywood sign looming above them.
Later that afternoon, I headed to Malibu for some beach time. While the sand wasn’t as busy as a peak summer day, there were lots of patrons frolicking around. Typically it cools down after September, but it’s stayed pretty warm out this year.
Now since I couldn’t find any signs of fall colors out and about, I decided to whip up some fall in my kitchen. I’m no Top Chef, but I’m happy to share with you my simple recipe for Pumpkin Muffins and/or Pumpkin Cake.
Ingredients:
1 (15 oz) can organic pumpkin puree
1 (18.25 oz) vanilla cake mix
2 eggs
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
Optional: brown sugar, honey
Makes 12 muffins or 1 cake, or 6 muffins and a small cake
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350. Mix pumpkin, cake mix, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add pie spice and cinnamon, you can up the flavors depending on your personal preferences. Mix well, batter should be smooth.
Step 2: Put mixture into lined muffin tins or a greased up cake pan. If desired sprinkle on some brown sugar and or a dab of honey. The sugar gives a crumbly sweet top texture. The honey and sugar will seep into the batter and make it sweeter.
Step 3: Bake for about 25 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!
These delicious treats are always a crowd pleaser. I kept my muffins plain, but added brown sugar to the cake. It turned out so moist and delicious!
Thanks so much for letting me share a bit about Los Angeles; you can visit my blog for more on fashion and my city adventures.
Thanks Ami!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Those look good! I've never been to the west coast - enjoyed the pics.
ReplyDeletePopping in from SITS!
ReplyDeleteShowing some love, I'm going tohave to try the pumpkin muffins or make a loaf. That looks fairly easy and I love pumpkin! :-)
Nice to meet you Ami!
ReplyDeleteI'd LOVE to live by the beach. Very jealous over here in MN! Wanna trade? hee hee
Nice to meet you! Great recipe!
ReplyDeleteoh, and have I told you Nikki that I love your blog? I do!
I have four cans of pumpkin in my pantry! This looks great.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by! I love your blog and will be following!
ReplyDeleteAudra