I felt as though I had found fall.
There she was! Peeking through the tall, green trees, her flames blazed against the bright, blue sky. I was far away from the city (as evidenced by the changes in political fervor), where the trees were still clinging to their youthful summer glow. My little red car, packed to the brim with Nordic sweaters, enamel plates and a menu fit for a cabin weekend, zipped along the winding roads to a shoot location. Yet at that moment, I inched along the road, leaning into my steering wheel and staring as high into my windshield as I could. There was fall!
My “day job(s)” have taken me farther and wider this season, to that cabin in the woods, to a magical old building with chipping paint, where I tossed a scavenged collection of branches and leaves, to the beach with a rosé dipped sunset. Each time, I tried to slow down enough to enjoy at least one little moment, in which I removed my head from the time checks and just inhaled the landscape, the season and the little journeys. It’s not easy, especially when the darkness begins to cloak the creaky trees, sending my imagination wildly into scenes from Stranger Things, but I tried then too.
It’s a time of year when we turn to spices, and pumpkins, and lattes that pretend to include both, in order to be in this season, to savor it slowly in the first hints of crisp fall air, but arguably, we should turn to honey.
Those mystifying, inspiring honey bees, who we as a society have taken for granted enough to push them to the verge of endangerment, are masters in capturing the essence of the season. From the same plot of land, their routines yield honeys so incomprehensibly different. This fall’s honey, is thicker, the sweetness intensifying as it rolls across the tongue ever so slowly, as if to say, savor the lingering golden light, the warmth and the bold colors.
No matter the season, nothing puts me quite in the moment like the combination of sweet and savory, so these Honey Sage drenched Biscuits are just that- sweet, savory odes to fall.
If you’re feeling particularly neighborly or generous, make extra Honey Sage Syrup and give the gift of fall to someone dear. When the biscuits are but mere crumbs, add the syrup to your evening bourbon drink with a fresh sage leaf garnish and really sink into the early sunset.
Whole Grain Apple Butter Parmesan Biscuits
Yield: ~ 12 biscuits
About this Recipe: Sweet enough to eat with breakfast or tea, savory enough to pair with roasted root vegetables and meats or warm butternut squash soups.
Ingredients
2 cups white whole wheat flour (recommended: King Arthur Flour)
3/4 cup shredded parmesan
2 Tablespoons chopped sage
2 teaspoon organic raw cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes (recommended: Kerrygold)
1/2 cup organic local buttermilk
1/2 cup organic apple butter
Garnish (optional)
sage leaves
Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper, or grease a cast iron skillet with extra butter.
In a bowl, mix together flour, parmesan, sage, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
Cut in cold butter by using your fingertips to rub butter into the dry ingredients until mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
Make a well in the center, and pour in buttermilk. Stir just until dough comes together, stir in apple butter until well combined. Dough will be sticky.
Drop spoonfuls (~2 Tablespoons/biscuit) of dough onto prepared baking sheet or into a cast iron skillet.
Bake for 15 minutes* or until the biscuits are golden brown on the top.
*Note: If you want to add the garnish, after 7-10 minutes of baking, add the sage leaves to the top of each biscuit, then continue to bake until golden brown.
Serve warm with Honey Sage Simple Syrup.
Honey Sage Simple Syrup
Ingredients
1 cup water
1/2 cup honey
10 fresh sage leaves (or more!)
Directions
In a pot over high heat, bring water, honey, and sage to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 minutes.
Turn off heat and allow the mixture to cool completely.
Remove sage. Transfer syrup to a jar, and serve warm with biscuits. Store any remaining syrup in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Enjoy!
