Welcome to Getting Fresh! I'm a Ferndale-based food blogger (when I'm not writing for Patch, you can find me at Tuesdays with Angela: Making Food for Friends). I'll be bringing you a monthly seasonal recipe, tips on where to find the ingredients, and the costs of the ingredients in your local stores.

I'm here to show you it's easy to make good food using ingredients found right here in our community. My focus will be on vegetarian recipes, but whenever possible I'll give you tips on how you can incorporate or substitute meat into the recipe. On the other side of the spectrum, I'll suggest ways to make the recipe vegan, without the use of any animal products at all.

So, welcome, and let's get on with the food!

Aside from the changing leaves, one of the surest signs of autumn is the appearance of pumpkin puree on grocery shelves. Western Market is stocked with cans of Libby's 100 percent pure pumpkin that can be used in savory dishes such as soups, chili, enchiladas, as well as sweet breads, cookies and cakes.

I've made it my personal mission this fall to work pumpkin into as many meals as possible, and when I was invited to a Sunday morning potluck brunch recently, I took the opportunity to try out a new recipe. I made a batch of pumpkin scones using a few recipes I found on the Internet as a base.

This was my first time making scones, and I was impressed with how easy they were to pull together and, of course, with the finished product. The scones were light, moist, not overly sweet, and perfectly complemented by the two glazes.

This recipe is made much easier if you have a stand mixer, but if you don't, don't let that scare you off; it's still a snap. The scones take about an hour to make, start to finish, and are a perfect treat for a chilly autumn morning with a cup of coffee or mug of tea.

Pumpkin Scones with Vanilla Cinnamon Spice Glaze  

Ingredients
Scones
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons cold butter (vegan substitute: Earth Balance sticks)
1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
3 tablespoons half-and-half (vegan substitute: Silk soy creamer)
1 egg (vegan substitute: 1 tablespoon ground flax simmered with 2-3 tablespoons water)

Vanilla Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons 2 percent milk (vegan substitute: Soy milk)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cinnamon Spice Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons 2 percent milk (vegan substitute: Soy milk)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of ground ginger
Pinch of ground cloves

1. Preheat the oven to 425F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Start by mixing dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger) together in a large bowl (or bowl of your stand mixer, if you are using one). Remove butter from the refrigerator and cut it into small cubes. Add the cubes to the dry ingredients (see image 1). If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to mix the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse sand. If not using a stand mixer, cut the butter into the dry ingredients with pastry blender or two knives.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, half-and-half, and egg together.
4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients (see image 2). This can be done with the dough hook of a stand mixer, or a spatula. When the dough is thoroughly mixed, it will be a little sticky but you are ready for the next step.
5. Form the dough into a ball and roll it out into a rectangle on a well-floured surface. The rectangle should be about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick (see image 3).
6. Using a pizza cutter, cut the rectangle into four equal columns. Cut each column into four triangles (see image 4). Don't worry if they aren't the same size!
7. Place each triangle onto the parchment-lined baking sheet (see image 5) and place into the oven. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the scones start to lightly brown.
8. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Let the scones cool completely before glazing them.
9. While the scones are cooling, prepare the vanilla glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Brush the glaze over the cooled scones (see image 6).
10. Let that glaze dry, and prepare the spiced glaze. Drizzle the spiced glaze over the tops of the scones. You can do this with a spoon, or by putting the glaze into a small Ziploc bag, sealing it, and cutting off a small corner to make a make-shift pastry bag (see image 7).
11. Let the glaze dry for about 30 minutes before serving.
12. Enjoy!

Finding it in Ferndale
All-purpose flour ($3.99 for 5 lbs at Western Market)
Sugar ($3.99 for 5 lbs at Western Market)
Baking powder ($1.99 at Western Market)
Cinnamon ($.99 - $4.29 at Western Market)
Nutmeg ($.99 - $5.69 at Western Market)
Ground cloves ($.99 - $4.99 at Western Market)
Ground ginger ($.99 - $4.69 at Western Market)
Butter ($2.50 for 1 lb at Western Market; Earth Balance vegan sticks $4.15 for 1 lb at Natural Food Patch)
Canned pure pumpkin puree ($1.99 per can at Western Market)
Half-and-half ($1.69 for 16 oz at Western Market; $1.75 for Soy Silk Creamer at Natural Food Patch)
Egg (Price varies)
Powdered sugar ($1.39 for 1 lb at Western Market)
2 percent milk ($1.29 for 16 oz at Western Market; $3.39 for half-gallon of Silk soy milk at Natural Food Patch)
Vanilla extract ($5.19 at Natural Food Patch)

Vegan option:
Earth Balance sticks
Silk soy creamer
Ground flax seed
Soy milk