Karen’s Opinion

The cooler weather makes me want to bake! I also like to eat soup and love that my husband likes to make big pots of the stuff. Here is one of my favorite pumpkin recipes.
Pumpkin Cake
2 cups white sugar
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups canned pumpkin
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 12×18 inch pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine sugar and oil. Blend in vanilla and pumpkin, then beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in nuts. Spread batter into prepared 12×18 inch pan. (make cupcakes by reducing the baking time to 20 minutes)
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Can use applesauce–3/4 cup and reduce the oil to 1/2 cup

This cake is so moist that it doesn’t need to be frosted! I do like to spread mine with cream cheese frosting. Yummy!

What a gorgeous fall day we are having here in the midwest. I am having trouble keeping my eyes open as I read through blogs while dropping E cards. I worked in my office all day yesterday and this morning so I would have time to work on my laptop and sew this afternoon.

I just finished the last load of laundry and so I am finished running up and down the stairs. I hate being away the whole weekend because it takes forever to get caught up on straightening the house and doing laundry. It was worth the look on Lynn’s face when I surprised him on his birthday. He didn’t know that when I said we were going out for breakfast that I meant we were also going to the casino. He won at the slots so he had a great day. After the horrible week he had last week, I am so glad to have seen him have fun. He needed the break.