by Tom Motley

Normally at this time of year (late August-early September), I’m writing about the falling leaves of North Texas. Except the leaves that I usually describe are actually just giving up, exhausted by summer’s wrath, cooked, fried, beyond the ability to hold on. In Collin County, as in Dallas County, we are often devoid of a languid landscape of romantic, colorful autumn leaves because the trees here wisely go into early dormancy, straight to bare, linear, winter-like silhouettes against the sky. Our autumn falling leaves are not usually doing so because of an early sudden frost or extended gray-sky with increasingly cool days. North Texas trees are simply worn out this time of year. This explains why the Hudson River Valley painters became famous, and the depressing Trinity River Valley painters have remained unknown.

The recent respite from what are usually oppressive summer temps, and the additional blessing of this year’s frequent showers have given our McKinney gardens an unexpected late seasonal boost. Everything in the raised beds is superbly lush right now, whether the plants are young or old. We can now expect a continued supply of gorgeous rainbow chard, Genovese basil, Hill Hardy rosemary, Greek oregano, garlic chives, Mex. Mint marigold, chocolate mint, poblano and cayenne peppers, and French Rocket arugula right on through Thanksgiving.

In twenty to thirty days, we should have lovely lemon cucumbers and my favorite squash, an heirloom black zucchini (the skin looks like black marble). The Autumn Leaves most beautiful to us right now are, in fact, bright green and belong to just such bountiful produce. The yellow cucumber and squash blossoms portend tasty, future riches. We love to thinly slice the round, yellow cukes and serve as a simple salad with a dollop of artisan, pear-infused, balsamic vinegar. I like to grill long, thick slices of the black zucchini (skin on), brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with fresh, chopped oregano from the garden. Also Detroit Dark Red Beet greens (tops) will be ready, with baby French Nantes carrots (with tops) delicious at about the same time.

In thirty to forty days, the rich tah-tsoi mustard (dark green leaves, sweet-spinach taste) and four new heirloom lettuces will be harvested up through the coldest days of winter (under cold-cloth at night).

Lastly, if we're lucky, in about a month we should enjoy some crops of heirloom ground-cherries. These little beauties are marble-sized, tomato-like jewels with a hint of pineapple, wrapped in a paper-like shell. (An old French recipe dips the little fruits into a sugar-syrup and lets the coating harden into a candy-layer). Though delicate to prepare, this is a really unique, practically ancient dessert. We enjoy serving the ground-cherries fresh, as an appetizer. Guests love to pop the little treasures out of the paper shells directly into their mouths. The distinct flavor is simultaneously sweet and tart.