Autumn has been upon us for a month now… Yet Los Angeles does not feel a bit like crisp, crunchy leaves or pumpkin spice lattes…
Just the other day Cobalt and I visited the beach to enjoy the sunny blue skies and cool breezes. I doubt anyone out East where we moved from is doing that now!
This being our first “cold season” in California, there’s a lot to get used to weather-wise. It’s downright strange that Thanksgiving is coming up without the threat of a freeze. Flowers are still as happy as if the month was July! And our citrus trees are still producing fruit like they have no idea winter is coming. And though I’ve seen a lot of new season attire showing up at various department stores, I laugh because who wears boots, scarves and mittens here? Cobalt and I got rid of all our winter clothes before moving, save some light jackets and long sleeved shirts for chilly evenings. I’m not planning on buying any snow boots unless we drive an hour north to go skiing…
Well, regardless of the anti-autumn air in Los Angeles, there’s no reason not to make the home feel fall-ish! It happens to be my favorite time of the year and if the weather isn’t going to bring it, I’m going to bring it with smells of pumpkin bread and apple cider candles!
Below is the same recipe I used for Pumpkin Bread earlier this summer, except that I’ve added a Streusel Topping, which creates a lovely crunch to each bite.
- 1 cup white flour
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice -or- cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable -or- canola oil
- 2 eggs
- 15 oz pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp water
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease one (1) 9x5 loaf pan with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- In a large bowl, beat the wet ingredients.
- Gradually add the dry to the wet ingredients, stirring well but not over stirring.
- In a separate bowl, mix the streusel topping ingredients with a fork. The texture should be like wet sand but not as dry as breadcrumbs. Add water one teaspoon at a time if too dry. Add flour 1 teaspoon at a time if too wet.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with streusel mixture. Bake bread for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
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