Remember that Pumpkin Lentil Soup I made recently? I figured when I made it I needed to have something to dip in the soup, because let’s be real, soup’s better with a cracker or piece of bread. Enter these Basil Parmesan Scones. I adapted the recipe to use the flour that I had on hand, and let me tell you these were perfect with the soup!

I have always loved a good baked good, and I remember for years being afraid to make anything for fear of being bad at baking. I can make a mean cookie, and a cake, but breads and scones alluded me. Then I went to a class with KAF, and I learned to not be afraid of doughs anymore. (And, I learned about a tool to mix flour for me so I didn’t have to touch it as much, because guys, flour gives the creeps.)

Now scones have become a regular thing, and I’ve been more and more tempted to try my hand at savory baking, rather than focusing only on sweets. It allows me to use my mixer more while at the same time not making me feel as badly for what comes out of the oven. I mean, I am still going to spread butter on my rolls, but at least there’s not also sugar in them, right? At least, that’s what I’m telling myself. (Psst – if you want to try your hand at bread, I suggest this recipe.)

The recipe for these scones is below and I suggest you try it, then mix up your cheese and your herb – rosemary anyone?!

Type: Baking, Breads

Author: Jennie

Oven Temperature: 450°

Difficulty: Challenging

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 8

Summary

Adapted from King Arthur Flour.

Ingredients

• 4 ounce white wheat flour
• 4.5 ounce all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon freshly basil, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoon cold butter, diced
• 2 large eggs, 1 separated
• 1/2 cup milk

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 450. In a large bowl, mix your flours, baking powder, Parmesan cheese, salt and basil.

2. Add the cold butter, working in until you have coarse crumbs.

3. In a small bowl, whisk 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk and milk. Stir into the dry ingredients to form a dough.

4. Flour a surface, then turn dough onto the surface and mold into a rectangle.

5. Cut into triangles (about eight pieces) and place on parchment-paper lined cookie sheet.

6. Whisk your remaining egg white until foamy, then brush onto each scone. Baked for 10 minutes until golden, then remove from oven and serve warm with soup!

Although the weather is turning today, for almost a week there we had actual fall temperatures – and it even rained! For like, more than five minutes. I have been saying it all season, but I love fall the most. The early nights are a bummer, but with it comes so many delicious foods and feasts! I love Halloween, especially now that we have a house to offer trick-or-treaters something, and you guys know how I feel about Thanksgiving. So this weather (that will hopefully be back next week?) is getting me in the spirit of the season! I’ve been making more soups as a result, and because we’re all obsessed with pumpkin this time of year, I couldn’t think of a better pairing than lentils. Hence, this soup.

I have always loved lentils, and I love lentil soup especially. I used split red lentils for this one because that’s what I found at TJ’s, but you can use whatever lentils you’ve got – just make sure to cook them until they’re tender. I also used carrots, an onion, and a green pepper because that’s what I had for veggies; I’d imagine this would be great with a hearty green, too.

Beware – this soup is a tinge spicy, but it’s good for all those colds cropping up this time of year. It’s perfect for lunch with a savory scone (we’ll get to those tomorrow) and a dollop of yogurt or sour cream and some of those pepitas from Trader Joe’s that are pumpkin spiced. Because you can never have enough, can you? You can cut down the curry for a less spicy experience, and try a smidge of turmeric if you’d like. I like to recommend turmeric for all things, since it’s so good for you. Also feel free to grate some fresh ginger onto your soup – yum. Recipe below – enjoy!

Type: Main Course, Soups

Author: Jennie

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 5-6 carrots, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ounce olive oil
• 1 cup split red lentils
• 4 cup chicken stock
• 15 ounce canned pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• s/p

Directions

1. Dice your onion and pepper, chop your carrots, and mince your garlic.

2. In a deep stock pot, heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Then, add lentils and cook about 1 minute. Lower heat to medium low.

3. Add your onion, pepper, carrots, and garlic. Cook for 3-4 minutes until softened.

4. Add chicken stock, canned pumpkin, and spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low and cook about 15-20 minutes until lentils are tender. Serve hot with savory scones or biscuits.

I have a love affair with making my own granola. I just can’t imagine a better breakfast than granola and some milk or yogurt. I make it a little different every time, and I always find better and more interesting combos. This time, I found some awesome (and cheap!) dates from TJ’s and I knew I had to add them to my latest mix.

There’s something about homemade granola on a weekday morning that feels like self-care. Call me crazy, but I always thank my past self for taking the time to make something delicious for rushed mornings. I’ve been feeling rushed and nuts for a few weeks (guys, we now have two kittens and a puppy and I have to literally sit on the floor and watch them eat breakfast so they’ll play nice) so getting up and seeing granola on the counter calms my heart and mind.

You can make this with whatever nut you like, and whatever seed you like, and some dried sweetness. Make it exactly like I make it, or change out everything – it’s all in the ratios. Balance oats with sweet, nutty, earthy…you get it, right?

Pepitas are my jam right now because a) it’s fall so pumpkin everything and b) they’re so damn easy to add to all things for a boost of protein and fiber! Add them to your soup, your breads, your cookies, your granola, have a handful for a snack, throw them in your stir fry. They are good in all the ways.

The recipe is below, and I suggest you double it if you’ve got more than one granola-eater in the house, otherwise this’ll disappear quite quickly. It’s so easy to make more of there’s no reason not to! Store room temp in a jar (or three, as is the case in our house.)

Type: Baking, Breakfast

Author: Jennie

Oven Temperature: 250°

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/2 cup pepitas
• 1 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup dried dates, chopped
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250. Chop pecans. Mix together with pepitas, oats, pumpkin spice, salt, maple syrup, and coconut oil.

2. Cook for about an hour, tossing every 15 minutes or so.

3. When toasty and browned, remove from oven and added cranberries, dates, and coconut. Serve warm or room temperature with milk or yogurt!

I’ve been putting pumpkin spice on everything I’ve made in the past few weeks, and I don’t regret it. Cinnamon evokes a deep memory of autumn and walks in a breeze smelling of snow and crunching leaves. It brings me to walking through shallow puddles after a fall storm, the smell of those same leaves damp and clingy to the bottom of my shoes and pant legs; but then, into a warm kitchen for a cinnamony-something. Coffee, coffee cake, cider, cider donut…the list goes on.

And so, with the beginning of October comes the need for me to grab the cinnamon-heavy pumpkin pie spice and go to town. Although I live in a place now where the rains will not come and the air will never quite smell of impending snow, I’d still like to think a hot glass of cider and a pumpkin muffin toasted with butter are the sure signs that cold days are here to stay.

These Pumpkin Muffins are perfect for breakfast on the go – I grabbed one every morning as I headed out the door after a few minutes in the toaster oven. They’re great with our without butter, or a little drizzle of honey. Reheated something magical happens to the tops of them.

The recipe is below – feel free to get crazy and add some apple chunks, some cardamon spice into the mix, or even add chocolate chips for an ultimate treat! Note: the recipe below makes just 7 muffins, because that was enough for a week since I was the one eating ’em. If you want, go ahead and double the recipe and they’ll be just as great.

Type: Baking, Breakfast

Author: Jennie

Oven Temperature: 350°

Difficulty: Intermediate

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 7 Muffins

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup pumpkin pureé
• 3 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mix flour and baking powder together in a small bowl.

3. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, 1/3 cup sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.

4. Stir together cinnamon and remaining sugar in the flour bowl.

5. Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about three-fourths full), then sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown and wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 30 minutes.

6. Cool in pan on a rack five minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

It’s October. I am sick of the weather being 95 degrees, and I am ready to turn off the AC. At some point, the weather will oblige, but until then I am ignoring the weather and making soup every Sunday for lunches during the week.

Italian Wedding Soup has been on my list to make for quite some time and I am mad at myself for not making it sooner. Don’t be like me – make this soup ASAP. The meatballs are a labor of love, but the soup is great and gets better the next day, and it’s the perfect lunch to bring to work. Trust me on this – don’t give up on making them tiny. The tiny meatballs are the keys to my heart.

The cannellini beans pair perfectly with the meatballs, the kale adds an earthy heartiness to the soup, and the macaroni gives the whole thing some thickness. I recommend ditalini, but all I had on hand was elbows – just some tiny sized pasta to do the trick. Also, guys I used Kettle & Fire bone broth, and it was delicious. If you can get your hands on some, I think having rich broth makes a difference (or make your own!) (PSST – buy some here. This is an affiliate link, just FYI.)

The recipe is below, but feel free to sub out your veggies and green – use celery, or parsnips, or use spinach, etc. Do what you feel in your heart. (Unless your heart tells you to make regular sized meatballs, then ignore your heart.)

Happy Soup Season, everyone!

Type: Soups

Author: Jennie

Difficulty: Intermediate

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 package Italian chicken sausage
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• olive oil
• 3 medium carrots, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, diced
• 4 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup small macaroni (elbows or ditalini)
• 1 can cannellini beans
• 1 bunch kale
• red pepper flakes
• pesto for topping
• s/p

Directions

1. Make the meatballs: Remove the chicken sausage from its casing. Roll into tiny meatballs. In a cast iron, heat a layer of olive oil over medium heat. Roll the meatballs in a mixture of your breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Brown meatballs in a single layer until golden brown on all sides, about 2 minutes per side.

2. Make your soup: dice carrots, garlic, and onion. Heat about 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat, then add veggies, and sauté for about 4 minutes.

3. Add 4 cups of chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add cannellini beans, macaroni, and red pepper flakes.

4. Cook until macaroni is al dente (7-9 minutes), then add in your kale and meatballs. Cook until meatballs are done, about 15 minutes. Serve with a dollop of pesto, more Parm, and crusty bread.