Triple Chocolate Mocha Scones with Espresso Glaze

Spring has finally arrived here in New England, and with the change of seasons comes cool (but not COLD), rainy mornings that are just meant for a hot cup of coffee and something just a little bit sweet to nibble on.

This morning, I was rummaging around through my cupboards, looking through half empty bags of pantry staples purchased from the bulk at my local co-op and found a chunk of callebut white chocolate and a generous handful of fair-trade semi-sweet chocolate chips. With coffee on my mind, I decided to make mocha scones.

Maple Vanilla Popcorn with Pecans

Once a year, I prepare for pure, unadulterated gluttony. I'm talking butter sculptures, baked potatoes the size of your head, candy apples covered in chocolate (then covered in more candy), enormous cream puffs, the ubiquitous burger topped with bacon on a buttered Krispy Kream donut instead of a bun, maple cotton candy, and all manner of fried delicacies - oreos, vegetables, whoopie pies, snickers bars, BUTTER, you name it. Ok, maybe I don't eat those things. Not most of them, anyway. Definitely not the burger.

If you live in Connecticut, or Massachusetts, or maybe even Rhode Island, you know what I'm talking about. The Big E, the biggest fair in the northeast, and the 6th largest fair in the nation. I think every New Englander has to have been to the fair at least once.

One of the highlights of the fair is checking out all of the "statehouses," where you can find interesting food, products, and other goodies from each state. I made a beeline for the massive area in the Vermont statehouse devoted entirely to maple products, and promptly scooped up a bottle of organic maple syrup while I was there this past weekend. After staring at that gorgeous bottle of syrup for two days, it finally came to me: Maple Vanilla Popcorn.

No wait. Maple Vanilla Popcorn WITH PECANS.

Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Tarragon

Mmmmmmm. Fall.

I think it's about time I just said it. Fall is my favorite season. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally a beach girl, but there is just so much AWESOME to fall.

Case in point, fall foods. Fresh pressed apple cider, squash and pumpkins and Brussels sprouts from the farmers markets. And just about any kind of soup, to help you transition from the hot and humid summers by the shore to the cool fall nights.

Roasted cauliflower soup in particular.

Pumpkin Scones with Spiced Maple Glaze

There is a chill in the air.

I woke up this morning curled into ball under my blankets. It seems that we are getting an early preview of crisp fall mornings here in CT. I'm not complaining. Although summers here on the shore are just magical, there is something about a cool New England fall morning that just feels right to me. It means it's almost time for boots, and sweaters, and pumpkin.... everything. Pumpkin everything!

Bonus Recipe: Homemade Granola Bars

I may have mentioned that I came home from my local co-op with 30 cups of rolled oats earlier this week. I used about 1/3 of them on my quadruple batch of Banana-Nut Granola, but that still left me with a lot of oats. 

I'm not a fan of oatmeal, so I had to figure out something to do with them. I vaguely remembered a post on TheKitchn explaining how to make homemade granola bars, so I thought, why not? The post, written by TheKitchn's recipe editor, Emma Christiansen, provides a template for making homemade granola bars, as well as a few fun recipe suggestions. I made her Cherry-Almond Dark Chocolate bars and Chocolate Chip Peanut bars and wrapped them up and sent them over to my niece who just started 4th grade as snacks for during or after the school day. Then I started brainstorming. I decided I would create Mocha Coconut Granola Bars and White Chocolate Apple Pie Granola bars!