That Pleasant Sense of Dark Autumn Nights...

I went for a walk this afternoon, and the little girl who lives two houses down from me was "playing" the harmonica.  She would belt out, "Feliz Navidad!"  (wheezy harmonica) "Feliz Navidad!" (wheezy harmonica).  She was really breathing into the harmonica in the same intonation of the phrase she just sang, so the playing was a bit more like a kazoo than a multi-tonal instrument, but the effect was celebratory nevertheless.I love how, this time of year, people leave their windows and doors open, a little for that last bit of warmth, but mostly for the crispness (such a fall word!) that is starting to creep in.  I learn so much about my neighborhood; a block and a half away, there is someone who is quite diligent about their violin scales, and the violin player's neighbor is in the music business and thinks the Sunset Strip is played out.  A young man down the street wants something real, "none of that Gossip Girl crap, you know" and the other morning, a little boy was having a temper tantrum because he didn't want his grandpa to take him to school.  

You know what else kicks butt about fall?  Carbs.  Nobody really wants to eat carby stuff in the summer-- it's too hot and heavy, and besides peach pie, there is nothing worth standing in a kitchen with the stove on in August.  

Best baked goods this week?  Truffle Muffins, adapted from Trader Joe's Truffle Brownie baking mix.  By baking the mix in a muffin tin, the chocolate chips are distributed in proportions to the caky-ness just right for one muffin, modified with a little cinnamon.  Heck yes.