It’s funny how quickly you adapt to the norms of a new place. After less than 3 months in Seattle, if I forget my reusable bags when going to the grocery store, I feel an inordinate degree of shame and conspicuous “other”-ness. The smell of weed on the street is so common as to be unremarkable. Dogs have just as much a right to be basically anywhere as I do. Tipping is as expected at a coffee shop or counter service café/diner/food truck as it is at a sit-down restaurant. Everything is expensive, it just is, but I barely notice anymore.
These are weak complaints and certainly nothing that keeps me up at night. Something is, though – I haven’t been sleeping very well lately and can’t quite pinpoint why.
My favorite thing about being here so far is the writing I’m doing. Which makes it sound like I’m being incredibly productive – I am not, and I’m just as full of false starts and languishing Word docs as ever – but I’m learning a lot through the classes I’m taking and can’t wait to see what else Hugo House has to offer. Hugo House is kind of like the Art+Lit Lab in Madison, but exclusively focused on writing, and with a much bigger budget.
We’re deep into fall now and so last night I made pumpkin bars. I have lamented in the past that they are too good to relegate to a seasonal-only existence, but now I think it’s probably for the best. Here is the recipe, if you are feeling so inclined.
Pumpkin Bars of the Gods (adapted from The Breadman’s Wife)
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg (if you have it – not crucial)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 4 eggs
- 1 2/3 cups sugar
- 1 cup oil (see notes below)
- 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
- Frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp milk
Directions
Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda) into one bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Gradually add the dry to the wet, mixing well.
Grease a 13×9 pan. Spread batter evenly and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes (or use the toothpick trick). Let cool completely.
While it’s baking, you can make the frosting, which we all know is the real reason we are here. Mix together the butter and cream cheese (your Kitchen-Aid works best rather than by hand), then add powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Mix it all on high until smooth and creamy and delectable. Frost the bars with a knife and, if you’re feeling fancy, sprinkle some pumpkin pie seasoning on top when you’re done.
Notes
- The oil. Pouring a big ol’ cup of vegetable/canola oil into a recipe is not the most appetizing thing and pretty obviously not great for you. That said, this is a dessert, not a salad, so if you want to use oil then you do you, my friend. I substituted Greek yogurt (1:1) (yay protein!) and the end result was about 99% the same, with the texture of the edges feeling somewhat tougher for some probably chemical reason I don’t understand. I have also subbed applesauce with similar results, so the choice really is yours.
- This makes a LOT of frosting. Haters may say even too much frosting. I don’t happen to think that there is such a thing, personally, but you’ve been warned.
- i do not love amy schumer but there is no more accurate gif
What I’m Reading:
- I took a one-day seminar on “writing your obsessions” at Hugo House with the author Steve Almond, and really enjoyed it/him, so afterward I picked up his book on the 2016 election, Bad Stories. I couldn’t recommend it more highly. Often, reading and thinking about that period of time now makes me incredibly depressed, but Almond synthesizes the myriad reasons why it happened the way it did so plainly and cleverly that I was more fascinated than sad.
What I’m Watching:
- Last night we finished season 3 of Daredevil on Netflix; V and I agreed it’s better than season 2. I was not super invested in Karen’s backstory, but I suppose it was necessary for further character development. It’s a good binge. And it was pleasantly surprising to see a South Asian actor in a key role that was totally non-stereotypical.
- There is allegedly a current season of The Amazing Race happening, but we haven’t been able to stream it, so we’re consoling ourselves with watching a random old season we hadn’t watched already. I think it’s the 17th? Nick is super verbally abusive to Vicki, and Chad and Stephanie just got engaged despite him also being a pretty big dick to her, which seems to be the running theme this time around.
What I’m Eating:
- Well, clearly, the pumpkin bars. I did put literally the healthiest recipe I know in the crockpot yesterday to try and balance out the extreme quantities of sugar I was consuming. That curried vegetable and chickpea stew is kind of labor-intensive for something that goes in the slow cooker, but it’s worth it IMO, and it’ll clean out your vegetable drawer in a hurry.
What I’m Fuming About:
- Flights home for Christmas and how expensive they are
- Isis’s continuing “overgrooming”/”barbering” habit that we naively hoped would improve upon a move to a different climate but which remains the same. I’m wondering if CBD oil would help her. Or maybe CBD oil would help me. Or maybe…
- Can’t seem to get a callback on any job applications to save my life. Or any bites on pitches that I’m sending out.
What I’m Happy About:
- Fall, duhhh. It’s gorgeous here.
Sconnie Molly 