Houses in town are getting webbed up with spidery gauze and happy-sad jack-o-lanterns and yard signs with pictures of arching black cats saying "BOO!" Coffee shops have starting writing things like "there's nothing spooky about our pumpkin spice latte" on their chalkboard sandwich signs. And I hear idle chit-chat about costume plans in the works. 

Many days of the week, I bike by or through an old cemetery. The moss and molds growing on the head stones have, funnily enough, transformed from burnt orange into sticky bright greens.  It's a place to watch tumbles of birds burst out of little overgrow thickets and to hear breezes whispering between stone and branch and bush. Little wonder it has me thinking on the deep as the oaks and maples shed their cloaks. One day feathery with pretty magenta and mustard. The next day empty & half clothed. Like girls spent from a night of dancing.

Slowly I'm learning the names. Chapman, Delancey, Jones. I can just barely make out some of them, rubbed smooth with age. A tall crafted headstone shaped like the trunk of a tree with many protruding limbs cut clean off seems both touchingly beautiful and terribly sad. Like a family tree removed of its children, designed to remind the world that its history is forever lost. I have yet to see a name on that one.

It's there that I daily remind myself that my little life is not all-important. That, really, my life is a series of soft, subtle experiences of awe strung together by the turning of the clock.

I made these scones this morning after having schlepped out of my dreams, dragging my feet the whole way. Rain shucked from clouds in a sheet over my rooftop as I attempted to drag myself back down into sleep. But something about the thought a mouthful of these pastries kicked me out of bed.

Butternut Sage Scone Recipe

Makes 9 large scones

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup spelt flour (you could use einkorn or traditional wheat flour as well)

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 2.5 tsp baking soda

• 3 tbsp coconut oil

• 3/4 cup butternut squash puree

• 1/3 cup yogurt or kefir (I used goat kefir)

• 1 tbsp whole dried sage leaves

• To serve: Chèvre or Butter or Ghee or Honey

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350'F, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. In the bowl of a Cuisanart fitted with an S blade, combine flour, salt, and baking soda (pulse several times to combine). Add the coconut oil and blend for about 30 seconds. Add butternut squash puree, yogurt, and sage, and blend for 1 minute, or until the dough begins to come together into a ball in the mixer.

3. To roll out, place a piece of parchment paper on your work surface. Scrape out your dough onto the paper, and form into a ball. Top with another piece of parchment paper, and roll out to about 1/2 inch thickness. Using a 3 inch biscuit or cookie cutter, cut your biscuit rounds and place on your parchment lined cookie sheet.

4. Bake at 350'F for 15-20 minutes. Scones are done when they have risen and turned golden. Pull from the oven, and let cool 5 minutes.

5. To serve, cut through the center and sandwich with ghee, butter, chevre, or honey. I'm sure you can think of some other delicious combinations as well!

6. To make butternut squash puree:

7. Preheat oven to 400'F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or oil your sheet with coconut oil). Halve and de-seed your squash, and place cut side down on the baking sheet. Bake 30 to 45 minutes, or until the outer skin is browned and a fork plunges easily into the squash. Remove. Let cool 20 minutes, and peel off the skins. Puree in a Cuisinart or other food processor until smooth.

These are really fantastic for breakfast, but I can see these gracing a Thanksgiving table too. But be sure to double the recipe! They go quick! xo Renee