Driving Around

I braved the shopping throngs in the Big City yesterday.  I survived, they survived and actually found some Christmas gifts.  We took the baby, monitor and all to shop with us.  He is a little bit of a distraction though.   People see the wire coming out of the blanket attached to the monitor, look at his tiny cute self and then ask about him.  Of course he is cuter than heck sleeping peacefully or just looking around in awe at all the cool stuff we are looking at.  He will be a good shopper when he grows up.  I can already tell.  One poor old guy was forced ( I am sure of this) to shop with some women in Bath and Bodyworks.  He followed Sadee around looking at the monitor and wires.  Finally he asked about it.  He said he was "studying" it and just had to know what it was.  Whew, Sadee was releived he was "creeping" with a purpose.  Nice guy, just in a terrible man situation.  Shopping with women in a girly store. 
I was terribly hungry for a piece of pumpkin cake by the time I was done.  That and a cup of coffee would have been the perfect end to a nice day.  Here is the recipe if you are interested in a super moist, dense and flavorful cake.  It is so simple it's sinful.

Pumpkin Cake
2 cups of sugar
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup applesauce (use a flavored one if you want, it pumps up the flavor)
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups of canned pumpkin
4 eggs
2 cups flour (can sneak in a little whole wheat here)
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
smidge of salt  (about 1/4 tsp.)
3 to 4 tsp. of Cinnamon (use less if you don't like the bolder flavor)
1-2 tsp. nutmeg (use one tsp. if you don't like it or leave it out)
1 tsp. ground ginger (this is optional we love it)
1 cup chopped walnuts plus more for garnish on frosting

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease and flour a 12 x 18 inch pan.
Combine sugar, oil, vanilla, applesauce, when combined add pumpkin and mix till combined.  Add eggs one at a time beating well after each one.  Add baking powder, salt, and soda and mix till combined.  Add flour stir just until combined, and then stir in nuts.  Pour into pan and bake about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.  You can put this into 13x 9 pan or round pans too you just have to adjust the cooking times.   Frost with your favorite cream cheese frosting and top with more nuts. 

Some times we don't even frost this, it just gets eaten "plain".  Yep, guess I will have to whip one up now.  Just talking about makes me hungry.....