I wouldn’t go so far as to say we have a fall nip in the air this weekend, but certainly a dip in the temperatures. It gets down into the sixties at night in the coastal South and we start making chili and shopping online for sweaters! Mother Nature knows her stuff much better than we do, however, and that’s why I time my changing of the season by the pecan trees.
In my world, when the pecans start dropping, that’s when fall has truly arrived. Wintertime turns the majestic pecan trees into scary bare skeletons, but we know spring is just around the corner when just a speck of green starts to show at the tip of those craggy branches and then it seems that overnight they transform into lush leafy canopies that make the most picturesque orchards all over the South.
My local pecan source is B & B Pecan Co. in Fairhope. I love driving past their groves. I love going in their little shop. I love using their pecans in both sweet and savory recipes.
Pecans make great presents because they are delicious, they last almost forever in the freezer, they can be used in SO many recipes, they make a textured tasty crunchy topping, and they are a great consumable gift for those of our loved ones who simply don’t need another darn thing.
These Deep South natives are also an essentially Southern ingredient and taste, inspiring such Southern classics as pecan pie, pecan divinity, and pralines. I love them roasted with savory herbs. And they’re not bad all on their own. Sitting down and cracking pecans with a dear friend or family member and nibbling on the fruits of your labor is time well spent.
Happy first taste of fall if not temperatures of fall. Those temps will be here soon enough and it’ll be time to gather up all the nuts—our family and friends and the pecans!
Photo by Angie Mosier
