When my mom visited me from Poland over Thanksgiving she requested I make her pumpkin bread just like the one she had at Starbucks and I was determinate to make the best pumpkin bread she will ever have. One of my favorite web sites for recipes is www.allrecipes.com The recipes are posted by regular home cooks and than reviewed by people that make them. I always go for the highest rated recipe with the most votes and I have never been disappointed.

Here is the recipe that I used. The pumpkin bread was perfectly moist and fluffy and even better than the one from Starbucks!

Here are few tips: you can mix it with chocolate chips or walnuts or sprinkle with pistachios before baking. Green pistachios look beautiful on top of the pumpkin bread and add it nice crunchy texture. I also fluffed egg whites separately from the egg yolks and folded them into the batter right at the end. This simple technique turns cakes into light and fluffy slices of heaven:)

The recipe will give you at least two loafs. Freeze the second one and you can have it when unexpected guests come over!

By Laurie Bennette

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 cups white sugar
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

LA Farmer's Markets Grand Tour Begins!

I woke up very early on Sunday morning determined to find the best farmer's market in L.A. So far, I have been going to one on 3rd and Fairfax that's open everyday till 9:30pm. It has plenty of shopping and entertainment options.even though The two fruit and vegetable stands have everything you might possibly need but it is more of a commercial tourist attraction then a traditional farmer's market. This time I wanted to find the real deal. One that has at least 5 fruit/veggie stands where you can bargain for prices and taste all the produce before you buy it, live seafood and other goodiesavailable. I started with the Hollywood Farmer's Market on Vine and Hollywood Blvd which was by far my favourite one. I tried enough persimmons, Asian pears, white peaches, strawberries, raw cheeses and homemade ice cream to feel me up till dinner time. There were also lots of warm food vendors and some local artists. I also purchased a live crab from a seafood vendor from Santa Barbara. It was a lot of fun to prepare it. I just boiled it and it was delicious. I also stopped by the markets on Melrose Place and one in Beverly Hills. They were both a lot smaller but the vendors were even more eager to bargain with you for deals. The Hollywood Farmer's Market is now my favourite place in L.A. and I can not wait to go back! Shopping list: live lobster, homemade, salted, caramel ice cream, and more delicious strawberries and persimmons.

Burrata Heirloom Tomato and Arugula Salad

Toss in white truffle oil, aged balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Voila!

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Restaurant secret: The creamy, dreamy burrata cheese served at all trendy California restaurants such as Mozza comes from Gioia, cheese makery located right outside of Los Angeles. You can also get it from the Farmer's Market at Fairfax and 3rd.

Burrata cheese is the Rolls Royce of Mozzarella. It has a thin skin and delightful, creamy center that melts in your mouth. Perfect with farm tomatoes or simply sprikled with corse sea salt. To me, it is the next best thing after chocolate:)

https://www.gioiacheeseinc.com/

When things don’t go as you plan…rethink your strategy!

When I quit my lucrative yet not very mentally satisfying job as a Vegas cocktail waitress I decided to make my living while working on producing my tv show as a freelance food and travel writer. What do I know about writing? Let’s see…I don’t have a degree in literature, in fact, English is my second language. But I do read a lot…and I mean A LOT. I’d rather spend my evening at a bookstore then hang out at a bar. I currently write restaurant and hotel reviews for a luxury resort magazine called “Aqua Cabana” available next month nationwide at Barnes & Noble and Borders. (I know...Thank God for proofreaders!) Yes, I know, I still have a lot to learn as a writer but my ultimate goal as a writer is to write for “Food and Wine Magazine”, “Gourmet”, “National Geographic” and the likes, as well as, to publish a series of cook books, autobiography book about my culinary adventures and self help/motivational books. Right now I’m in the middle of reading a really good book, “Getting Started as a Freelance Writer” by Robert W. Bly. It is a must read if you want to write...AND GET PAID for doing it. I’d like to share a couple of really good advices from Bly on making money as a writer:

“To pursue commercial writing, you need a business plan (… ) “Set your annual income goal. If you want to make $100,000 a year and work 50 weeks a year, you must gross $ 2,000 a week from writing. If you work 5 days a week you must gross $400 a day.” (…)”Do you have to make $400 a day? No. Some days you’ll be writing queries or doing self-promotion and earning nothing. Other days you will get into a writing groove, finish $ 1,000 article in 6 hours, and still have time to write more queries. You are safe as long as your average revenue is $400 a day, or $2,000 a week, or about $9,000 a month”. He continues:”A doorman in New York City earns around $39,000 annually. If an unskilled laborer can make $39,000 just for opening a door, surely you can earn $50,000 to $100,000 for your skills.(…)”Value your time. If you earn $100,000 a year and work 40hrs a week, your time is worth at least $50 an hour. You should base decisions about how you spend your time on that figure.(…)”Of two resources, time and money, time is the more valuable. You can always make more money. But time is nonrenewable resource. Once it’s gone, you can’t get it back”

In his book, the author tells you exactly how to make $100,000 a year or more as a writer. I think the advice quoted above is great because it can apply virtually to anyone that does any type of freelance work or runs their own business. I hope this is as helpful and inspiring to you as it was to me.

The Gumbo Pot/Farmer's Market

What's for dinner? Fried oysters, corn bread and collard greens from the Gumbo Pot @ the Farmer's Market

Vienna Cafe

Vienna Cafe, the blissful carbohydrate heaven. Does it get any better than perfectly crispy warmbaguette with REAL butter and homemade strawberry preserves? It doesn't. In Europe, there is a bakery on every corner. The smell of freshly baked bread is truly one of the most amazings aromas ever created. Vienna Café is right in the middle of Melrose vintage shopping mecca but I’m pretty sure I could find this place with my eyes closed. But there is so much more to this place then bread. From lobster benedicts to smoked salmon, brie cheese, sour cream and caviar omelettes, to pizzas, panninis, soups, shrimp tacos and everything in between.

http://www.viennacafe.com/

Things don’t always go as you plan and its OK

I am not going to lie, it hasn't been easy for me to stay positive. Before I moved to Hollywood to follow my dreams, I spent the past year serving bottles of vodka and champagne to people that were willing to spend hundreds or sometimes thousands of dollars on a bottle of liquor. I made my living solely from their gratuity…their willingness to give me 20% of their ridiculous bill. Did it always happen? No. Did I make a really good living regardless? YES! I wanted to save enough money to move to LA and pay $2000 a month for a shitty apartment and so I did. This is how I had it planned: I am going to save enough money to live in LA for three months without having have to worry about wasting time on looking for a regular job. I will be in the best shape of my life and maybe even meet my ridiculously rich prince charming that will sweep me of my feet and I won’t have to find a job and just concentrate on producing my tv show...You find it funny/crazy/stupid right?! Now this is what really happened…my savings account depleted in sound breaking speed…seven pounds of food trapped in my ass later and not much more to show for what felt like lifetime of saving up…I know I will be OK. They say, “Nobody trusts a skinny chef”:)...Now, let’s stay positive!