Camilla’s Neighborhood

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Well, I've had a request for the Pumpkin Cupcakes.  They were wonderful.  I wasn't able to take a picture of those.  But I made half with and half without chocolate chips (just add them after filling half the cups) since my mom doesn't like pumpkin and chocolate.  They are a bit dense, but they were still delicious.  I'll highlight the small change I made:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cupcakes with Cinnamon Icing
Makes 12 Cupcakes

Ingredients
1 cup canned punpkin
1/3 cup oil (I split it oil/apple sauce)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup soy milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup AP Flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
I added 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c choc. chips
--Cinnamon Icing

Direction:

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.
2.  In a medium bowl, stir together pumpkin, oil/apple sauce, sugar, soy milk, and vanilla.  Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon/pumpkin spice, salt.  Stir together with a fork--don't use a handheld mixer, as it will make the batter gummy.  Once well combined, fold in the chocolate chips.
3.  Fill liners two-thirds full.  Bake for 22-24 minutes.  Transfew to wire rack and let fully cool before icing.

Cinnamon Icing
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (also added some pumpkin spice)
2 Tbl margarine, melted
1 Tbl soy milk
1.2 tsp vanilla

1.  Place sugar and cinnamon/pumpkin spice in a small bowl.  Add the margarine, soy milk, and vanilla and stir with a fork until smooth.  Keep at room temperature until ready to use.  The mixture should look opaque and honey brown.  If it's glistening a lot or looks too liquid, add a little extra confectioners' sugar.

Assemble:
I just used a spoon and drizzled the icing on -- the book tells you to pipe it on.  Whatever.

Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes that Rule

Isa Chandra Moskowitz

This was quite interesting. Alternative sources of energy are definitely worth checking out.

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A nice little hiking trip in Purgatory Chasm...

"I will continue to be a vegetarian even if the whole world started to eat meat. This is my protest against the conduct of the world."
Isaac Bashevis Singer – Nobel Prize winning author

This article is about what it means for most of us, to live in a world where we're very much alone to feel the way we do about animal exploitation. As far as I'm concerned, it's very accurate. For some it might be hard to go against the rest of the world, but at least for me, it was easy. I didn't have 'the rest of the world' even before I chose my lifestyle.

I found these articles interesting and informative. This one is about India's relationship with China, in connection with the Uighurs. Here, is another one with more about the Uighur people. Finally, this article deals with a civil rights movement for the Uighurs.

Normally, I'd never post anything about a tv talent show. However, this story, about Chinese racism and prejudices caught my interest.

Information for those who want to learn more about making a transition to veganism.

If you, like me, tend to get depressed when the light disappears, this might help cheer you up.

Read more about it in this article.

More pictures of trees.  I just can't help it!  The colours are so beautiful!  These are just from a short walk I took around my neighborhood.