Early

When I was a kid I spent some time growing up in a central Texas town called Brownwood. It was a very small town set in the middle of a few even smaller towns. One of these towns was called Early. I don't know why. I guess it's just one of those funny Texas town names like Hutto, Dimebox, or Concrete.

But this post is not about Early, Texas. It is about the early fall we seem to be experiencing here in Texas. It is now mid-September and under normal circumstances we would still be in the blazing 100's. About 7 years ago we hit 114°. Right now it is about 83° outside. This doesn't usually happen until late-October. So fall seems to have come early this year.

Just before the temperatures really started dropping I saw the first sign. I was walking through the produce department of the grocery store where I work. Shopping for a class I needed to buy some fruit and noticed that we had already gotten Honeycrisp apples from Washington state. This was a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't believe that I was seeing them in early September. We haven't even gotten the New York state apples yet. So I figure that fall is coming early in some of the northern U.S. Then we started getting rain and cooler temperatures. With that I have to welcome the first breath of fall...finally. It has been a brutal summer here so I have no problem with fall getting here now.

This is my favorite time of year. I love the flavors of fall: butternut squash, apples, pears, wild game, beets and other root vegetables. Soups, oatmeal, breads, galettes, and pies will be made aplenty. Friends and family come together to celebrate holidays and enjoy good food and company. So let's start cooking.

P.s. One thing I have learned in this state is that you can never really predict the weather. I hope that it holds. And I hope that it gets bone-chilling cold this winter.