Fall Feelings: Medjool Date, Chocolate and Orange Scones

 This is a sponsored post, but as always, all opinions are my own.

I don’t know how it happened but the great big leap from summer to fall has already happened. Mornings have a definite chill to them, and the leaves have begun the great progression from green to amber and orange. To be honest, I’m grateful for it. Summer definitely has its positive points, but I love the feeling of fall and all of the comfort food that comes with it. Like pots of tea and scones! 

Medjool Date and Chocolate Oat Bars

 

This is a sponsored post, but as always, all opinions are my own.

I don’t know how it has come to be the last week of August, but here we are. The mornings, at least here in Saskatoon, have a notable chill to them, and some of the leaves have started to turn yellow. It has been a very dry, very hot summer and I’m not sure if this change is due to summer ending or the parched landscape the trees find themselves in. Nevertheless, change is coming and I’m here for it. Over the next few months I’ll be celebrating the launch of my second book baby Vegetables: A Love Story, and I can’t wait to share all of the exciting details with you. Stay tuned! In the meantime, I’m here to share with you an absolutely delicious recipe for Medjool date and chocolate oat bars, which I just so happen to be nibbling on as I type this. I just can’t get enough! 

Mocha Medjool Date Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache

It’s that time of year when visions of sugar plums start dancing in heads.  Lists are being made on a daily basis and If you’re at all like me you’ve started thinking about desserts to serve for the upcoming holiday season.  Well, to be honest, I think about dessert all of the time, but especially at Christmas.  You want a showstopper.  And today, I have that for you, with a little help from the friendly (and delicious) Natural Delights Medjool date.  And, believe it or not, but this cake is completely vegan, and can easily be gluten free, too.  This is a great recipe to have on hand when guests with special dietary restrictions will be seated at your table.  Rather than having various desserts to accommodate this or that food issue, everyone can partake in this cake. They may even lick their plates.  

On The Road: Easiest Energy Bars

"Keep your face towards the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you."  ~ Walt Whitman

First off, tell me how it's August.  August.  This past week I've noticed how there is less daylight when I wake up.  Yes, even at 5:00 am, one notices these things through blurry eyes and foggy brain.  It's happening, this loss of light.  But let's not think about that yet, shall we?  There are plenty of sun-soaked memories yet to be made.  Go out and get yours.

I'm officially calling this my on the road summer.  I haven't been around home much, and I kinda like it.  My beau and I recently explored the southwest part of this province, and holy smokes, we were blown away by all of the gorgeousness the prairie has to offer.  I sounded like a broken record with "it's so pretty" being repeated over and over again.  We whisked ourselves away to a little cowboy cabin in the woods, and yes it was just as romantic as it sounds.  Coffee was sipped on the front porch, while we watched horses graze on the opposite hill.  Wind rustled through the trees at night, and the stars were so bright, so luminous, it made me a little verklempt.  Peace and quiet - that's what we had, and it was glorious.  During the day we rolled along back roads, with the windows down.  Sadly, one gopher was killed on our excursion, but alas, these things happen.  Road trips are a great way to get to know someone.  Stories are told, songs sung.  There is silence and laughter and hands held.  Faces brown with sun, our smiles luminous like the stars.  

Sticky Toffee Lentil Cookies with Dark Chocolate Chunks

Secrets.  I've got them, you've got them.  Some are big, some are little, and some are much harder to keep than others.  Some secrets you tell people you wish you wouldn't have, and others you wish you could tell, but can't bring yourself to go there.  Holding on, letting go.  It's what we do.