a spooky-ish day

Today is Halloween... even though it doesn't feel like it. Maybe it's because I'm 20-something and childless, but when Halloween falls on a weekday it just doesn't have the same excitement.

My sister and me when we were little. I'm the one in red!

Like most Halloween loving adults I celebrated over the weekend. Sans costume. Sans party. (And sans scary movie!! The one thing I wanted to do!) But good times were had with good friends and that is all that matters.

So when October 31st rolled up on the calendar today I was feeling very un-Halloweenish. They didn't even wear their costumes on The Today Show this morning. Very understandable considering the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, but disappointing at the same time.

Oh well. Happy Halloween! Hopefully next year will be better.

sunrise

Good morning! I took this photo earlier this week on Monday at 7:06am. The sunrise stopped me dead in my tracks. I was lucky my camera was nearby. What a beautiful way to start the week!

But now it's Friday! And it's the weekend before Halloween!! I don't know what I'll be doing yet, but I'd at least like to make time for a scary movie... or two : )

What will you be doing this Halloween weekend?

fresh baked scones

Its been pretty gloomy here in Chicago. Perfect weather to get in the mood for Halloween! The fog and rain has inspired me to "spookify" my blog. Did you notice? :D

I added some Halloween decor to my apartment too! Taped in my window are some cute paper bats to go with the leaves I put up last month. They were so easy to make! All I did was cut them out of black construction paper to get a silhouetted look.

The gloom has also inspired me to do some baking. So I came up with this scone recipe.

Yogurt Scones
2 cups flour
4 tablespoons shortening
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
fresh raspberries
1 egg (for egg wash)
sugar (for topping)

First preheat oven to 400 degrees. Then combine flour, baking soda, salt, sugar and shortening and mix in a food processor - or use a fork if you don't have one. My food processor is so small I had to do this in two batches! Oh well, whatever gets the job done. Pour into a mixing bowl and set aside.

Next mix vanilla with yogurt and add berries. I chose a strawberry rhubarb yogurt (because it was in my fridge) but you can use whatever flavor your want.

Add the yogurt mixture to the flour. Stir until combined.

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until dough comes together, adding flour as needed. Flatten until dough is about half and inch thick and cut into triangles.

Place on a baking sheet then brush with egg wash. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. I had to add a bit of time until they were perfectly browned. So much time... I lost track. Whoops!

Yum! Fresh out of the oven with a hot cup of coffee, these scones are the perfect comfort for this gloomy day. The outside has a nice crunch while the inside is dense but moist thanks to the yogurt. I can't wait to try these in different flavors!