Feels like Fall

It DOES feel like fall.  And much too soon, in my opinion.  I’ve switched from shorts, a tank, and sandals to socks, sweaters, and leggings in a week.  From iced coffee to hot vanilla nut tea and hot chocolate.  (Not that it’s bad, just different, and MUCH too soon.)  I digress…

My counter.  Technically, it’s the desk my wonderful father made for me in elementary school, that I absolutely love.  But right now, it’s serving some time as a kitchen counter.  I was looking at it this evening after I put cinnamon rolls in the oven, and came to the conclusion that it’s a lot like my life.

Look at the organized clutter, the spattering of flour and cinnamon, the balancing of the laptop.  It’s got character, dents,scrapes, and doodles.  Lots of love oozes out of it when I think of the time and love my daddy poured into it as he made it.  (It’s got to be my favourite Christmas present ever.  Seconded by the hope chest he made me a few years later.)  My life is like my desk.  Organized, but in a messy, ‘only-I-know-where-everything-is-but-it-REALLY-is-organized’, kind of way.  Cluttered like my brain, jumping and crashing from one thought to the next.  Spattered like the laughter, screams, squeals, and tears of my family, throughout every day.  My life has had its share of dents and scrapes.  Doodles are the fun, quirky times.  So much love has been shoved into my life, and so much love squeezes out of me.  It’s give and take kind-o-deal.

There you go.  My life in a desk.  Didn’t think you’d ever come across that comparison now, did you?

On the other hand…

I may or may not need more counter space.  Either way, I had just enough room, in this cluttered mess, to make Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls.  I’m not going to share the recipe, I’ll just send you over to Piping Dreams for that.  But I did just want to say hey, and share a few photos.  Sorry (yet again) for being disconnected the past year.  Spring was crazy.  I thought, ‘Surely I’ll have some down time in the summer!’.  I was wrong.  Now that summer has flown by, and fall is at my heels, I’m thinking, ‘I must MAKE time through the fall and winter months!’.  Will it happen?  Only time will tell.

But for now, I leave you with cinnamon and clove scents wafting through my kitchen into yours.  As Lauren says in her post, these only take 30 minutes TOPS to whip up.  You can have your house smelling like mine in no time.  Or you can come over for coffee right now… or in the morning.  Whichever.

My hubby couldn’t wait for me to even get pictures, before he tried snatching a cinnamon roll.  What I didn’t tell him was that they were whole wheat.  Will he notice?  I haven’t heard any comments yet.  I’ll let you know.  (Sneaky wife here, trying to get him to eat healthier…  Do cinnamon rolls count as healthier?  Imma say yes.  Why not?)

If you really aren’t into whole wheat, check out these bad boys:  Nanny’s Cinnamon Rolls.  Yummmm!

Or these:  Apple Jelly Tea Rolls.  So good.  Soooo fall-ish.

Pictures of the kiddos you say?  Why, sure!

{Hats all around.  Cael wearing his uncle’s fedora, and Jude’s new hat knit by a great friend of the family}

I have a hat fetish.  There are so many awesome hats that look absolutely adorable on little boys…  *sigh.

It’s a Raspberry Scone kinda day.

Just a tidbit of what happened in my life today.  Our family grew from 3 to 6.  All in a matter of one evening, and all by choice.  We went to pick up two kittens, and came home with three.  I just couldn’t separate them.  Two black sisters (one long and one short-haired) and one orange tabby brother.  Snap, Crackle, and Pop.  What’s an extra cat…  or three?  🙂

So – Whole Wheat Raspberry Scones.  That’s what I made today.  Proud of me?  They’re pretty good too.

I haven’t been doing a whole lot of baking lately.  Mostly because there has been too much else to do.  Chasing after Cael, cleaning the house, going away, being preggo, etc.  Oh, and I’m back to work part-time too, which definitely adds to the crazy chaotic life that seems to be mine.

But there has still been a bit of baking going on.  I have a few other recipes all set to share with you too.  And I’m sure more baking will be in my future.  Especially with a bridal shower and a wedding for my friend in the near future.

Anyhow!  To the scones!

I found a recipe at Smitten Kitchen and slightly adapted it to what was in my refrigerator.  Raspberries add such great flavour – they make the scones perfectly sweet and tart.  And whole wheat flour add a great body to the scones (not to mention a little added nutrition).  Try them out.  And if you don’t have my ingredients, check out Smitten Kitchen’s recipe; you’re bound to have one or the other.

Whole Wheat Raspberry Scones

1 cup  whole wheat flour
1 cup  all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup  sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 cup  fresh raspberries
3/4 cup  non-fat vanilla yogurt
1/3 cup whole milk

And… about 2 Tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a baking sheet.  In the bottom of a bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, sugar and salt.

With a pastry blender, add the butter cut the butter into the flour mixture until it looks like dry curdled milk (yum, right?).  Add the raspberries and use the blender again to cut them into smaller chunks.

Stir in the yogurt, milk, and lemon juice to form a dough with a flexible spatula.  When the dough is all sticking together, transfer the dough to a well-floured counter.  Flour the top of the dough and pat into a square about 1-inch thick. With a knife, divide the dough into 9 squares.  Put the scones onto the baking sheet. Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, or until lightly golden at the edges.  Cool on the  pan for a minute, then place on a cooling rack.

**If you have to add more or less liquid – do so.  My dough was pretty sticky, but I floured it really well when I rolled it out.  I like making things like that, it’s my preference.  But if it’s not yours, just don’t make it quite so sticky.**

Enjoy.  They are great still warm out of the oven, as are, with a cup of tea.  Or warmed up later with a slab of butter on top.

After supper this evening, we went outside and had bubbles for Cael (courtesy of his Nana).  Here he is in action!  (He loved it.)

 

{He was having a blast!  And his feet were as black as…. well… tar}

 

 

{My slightly pregnant belly…} 

Talk soon!