Pumpkin Bar Recipe

I think this is the best pumpkin dessert you can find (my 3rd Sister originally passed it along). In fact, it may be my favorite dessert of all time. You should make it for Fall or make it all year like I do:

-1 box yellow cake mix
-3/4 cup butter
-3 eggs
-1 jar pumpkin butter (available at Trader Joe's or get the Muirhead brand at Williams Sonoma in the fall. About 10 oz. of pumpkin puree might work too?)
-1/8 cup milk
-1 Tbl flour
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 tsp cinnamon

*Preheat oven to 350. Set aside 1 cup of the cake mix. Combine remaining cake mix with 1/2 cup of the butter, melted. Add 1 egg and press into a 9x13 greased pan.

Mix pumpkin butter with 2 eggs and the milk and pour over cake mixture.

Mix the reserved cake mix with the flour, sugar and cinnamon (I like to use a little more flour and sugar). Cut 1/4 cup softened butter into mix with a fork, pastry blender, or clean hands and sprinkle over the top of the cake. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Geographic snobbery

There was a girl wearing a Utah Jazz shirt at the front desk of the Discovery Museum today when I checked in. I said something like, "Nice shirt--I'm from Utah"; she was too. Another front desk worker piped in with a, "Congratulations to both of you on escaping." For a split second it felt like a compliment (kind of like, "You don't seem like a Mormon." Thanks! Wait, what?), but then I felt irritated. All I could come up with at the moment was, "Oooh no!" (like "oh no you didn't!"). He said something like, "It is really beautiful there," and I agreed and went on my way.

But it was one of those situations I kept stewing about and coming up with things I should have said (I think the winner was,"You must be a lot better than people who live in Utah"). What's the deal with big city people thinking they have something over people in smaller cities and towns, especially those in the middle of the U.S.? I've seen this attitude in varying degrees many times. San Francisco is cool, and that's fine if you don't think you'd like living in Utah/Kansas/Illinois, but don't be a jerk about it, especially if you've never been there. And especially if your audience is two women who have willingly associated themselves with the place you're putting down and haven't said anything negative about it, Discovery Museum Guy.

Just to show I'm not above [affectionately] making fun of where I'm from, here's what Ashlee Simpson would look like if she lived in Vernal:

Pam Anderson if she lived in Kanab:

Sharon Stone if she lived in Bountiful:

and Britney Spears if she lived in Panguitch:

Hee hee! All credit is due to Becky who sent me these pictures among others a few years ago.

Raisels

I thought these looked so weird when 1st Brother asked for them at Safeway, but I'm glad I gave in because they're kind of genius! They taste like sour candy, but the chewy part is a golden raisin instead of dyed corn syrup glop. Not too much better, I know, but interesting idea, and he likes them. The sour peach ones taste very close to peach rings.

Stern Grove

We recently visited Stern Grove at 19th Ave and Sloat on a rare warm, sunny day. Fantastic! It has a Secret Garden-y feel since you're surrounded by busy streets and houses yet in the forest. There is lots to do like:

Play around in the amphitheater (where a summer concert series is held):

Get your picture taken in front of one of San Francisco's only natural lakes:

Stand in front of this strange jack rabbit/man statue:

Climb a tree while a guy plays guitar underneath:

This is also a fabulous place for little ones to ride bikes because of all the flat, paved trails. My husband and I had fun riding 1st Brother's Razor scooter around since he gives up on it after about 2 minutes (should I have purchased the bike with training wheels after all? Sigh.)