It's almost impossible not to vigorously lament the passing of summer in Chicago, but fall is so darn beautiful at least it's easy to be distracted. Everywhere you look, the view is full of burnt orange, gold and brick red. These early autumn days are sweet with tranquil weather, sunshine and the last of the warm winds. They are easy to savor as you take the final liesurely walks and spend just a few more minutes at the park with little ones. Getting to work on foot is still enjoyable and the heavy jackets have not yet come out. Ask any Chicagoan what comes next, and... well, never mind.
If summer brings the intense but fleeting pleasures of garden tomatoes, sweet corn and fresh berries, fall can be heartily commended for delivering more lasting fare. At the markets, crates of storage apples come in every color of the rainbow, piles of root vegetables make you wish you had an old-fashioned celar for purple carrots and sweet onions and the pumpkins and squash are vibrant with the colors of the season. The gardens may be giving up and the markets shutting down, but these flavors hang on for a while. Even on a warm October night, you can begin to taste Thanksgiving right around the corner.
It's in this spirit that we line up our menus for fall with foods that keep one last leg in the garden and bravely ward off winter. We'll enjoy warm cider, cranberries, apples, roasted root vegetables and the cool weather greens that just get sweeter with a frost or two. Between us and the depths of winter stand the holidays and a season of generosity that can soften even the rough edges of shelter life. There will be days with gifts and music and pie and lights scattered among the leaner days. It is a pleasure to serve in such a time, bolstered by the knowledge that He who controls the changing of the seasons will never cease to provide. Before the winter, He always provides a harvest.
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