[Things We Adore Sunday] Autumn Mornings, Sam Cooke, Southern Tea Cakes

It's been a long weekend for me. While everyone was out partying and having a good ol' time drinking witches brew, I was stuck inside shivering and eating little besides chicken soup with a swig of orange juice. So boring.

What have I been doing to escape? Reading blogs and back issues of Sunset magazine. And watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians. No judgies! When was the last time you had a flu so bad you fainted? Yeah, that happened to me on Thursday... So I am allowed to spend my Saturday night watching Kim get married, thankyouverymuch.

But back to the blogs, which are reminding me of all the things I can't wait to do now that it is autumn and now that I am finally starting to feel a bit better:

1. Different ways to cook quinoa, and how homey that grain tastes with everything this time of year:
Cannelle et Vanille's Savory Crumble:

via canelle et vanille

And butternut squash pomegranate quinoa from Family Spice

via Family Spice

2. Once I'm done being sick, I am SO pampering myself with this olive oil face scrub from Wit & Delight. It only requires three ingredients: olive oil, honey, and sugar (which is great for sensitive skin).

via Wit & Delight

3. Taking long walks in the morning. The air is just starting to get a bite of coldness in it in the mornings, and, despite being sick, I have been taking walks all around my childhood neighborhood in the mornings. This helps me clear my head and start the day without wearing me out like running has been lately.

4. Sam Cooke has been getting me through this sickness as well. I can't get enough of this song. It makes me feel much better about, well, everything. 

5. I have been working on the prototype for my southern tea cakes. These are a traditional southern cookie that is served with tea, but I have never been served these by family in Tennessee. They originate more from southern Georgia and the like, but I am determined to make them in the spirit of my Grandma Jones, who made the best cookies you could ever imagine, and they kept fresh for ages. I wish I could send some to her this holiday season, but I can feel her guidance in my hands while I tenderly roll out the delicate dough. She's telling me, in her British accent, to put in just a bit more butter.

I've been working mainly with Paula Deen's Gamma's recipe, but I've also been using several blogs for inspiration including this one:

via delicious inspiration

And this one, which includes a beautiful story about the author's southern cooking heritage:

via Lana's Cooking

Okay, that took a lot out of me. Time to take another nap.