Fall has always been my favorite time of year — the fashion, food, flavors and foliage. Moving back to the RGV, marking fall is different than in the northeast. While our leaves may not change to the same degree, the first cold front brings much-needed relief from the blistering summer heat and you can break out your sweaters and jeans again. Fall baking spice flavors are the same no matter the weather, warming you up from the inside out. Getting together with friends and family around a fire is also a nice fall treat.
Another fall treat is our third issue. You can cozy up on the couch and make our fall cocktail, Return to Avalon, which tastes as cozy as your favorite blanket while still refreshing in the Texas heat. In my opinion, Fall flavors are never complete without herbs and mushrooms. We found some local entrepreneurs who are bringing mushrooms to the valley year-round. In Shroom Boom, we talk about the importance of fungi and where you can buy local mushrooms. Debbie Cox, a local legend and lover of nature, offers some tips on how to foster a local herb garden in the valley, which can grow in the ground, in pots or in plant beds — Mom, this one’s for you!
With the local coffee culture flourishing, Turning Beans Into Business discusses three local coffee shops and how they chose to bring quality coffee to their communities. If you are a coffee lover and want to support locally, make sure to check out our QR code that lists all the local coffee shops in the valley and visit @rgvcoffeecollective on Instagram to hit up the next Thursday Night Throwdown. The recipes we provide this season call for coffee, too. Use your local roast for the Coffee Rubbed Venison Loin, Poached Pears, Parsnip Purée and a Coffee Reduction. I came up with a squash recipe that completes this fall feast.
I am a total history buff and love to know how things came to be. Our Origin section satisfies this craving. This season we showcase the convent grape. In Nuns, Vines and Wines we discover how a grape from France survived our soils and now helps two local wineries produce great Texas vino.
We decided to change up our In the Kitchen section, so you are able to meet some of the chefs who are sourcing locally and bringing you amazing food. We speak to Diego Ramos and learn what he cannot live without in his kitchen.
What’s In Season highlights the many options of what to plant and eat, and our Market Guide contains some new CSAs if you prefer to buy your local produce delivered or pick it up. In our Harvest section, we talk about the teamwork behind sugarcane. Success is Sweet shows the power of the community around the oldest and largest sugar mill in the state. Purchase Domino sugar? That’s all the RGV!
This issue has the first Signature Section from Edible Communities, created in partnership with Food Tank. It highlights how plastic waste is inevitable in the food industry and how COVID magnified this issue with single-use items skyrocketing. We take this topic one step further and discuss the importance of recycling in our Going Green section. Both the Reduce Reuse and Recycle story and Is Plastic Waste the Cost of Eating story show us the importance of recycling, and we have provided you with the options of drop-off locations as well as curbside pickup. We hope you do your part and recycle. Edible for Kids shows how different cultures celebrate the harvest. There are cute recipes and activities to do as a family.
I look forward to hearing how you celebrate with friends and family this fall. I want to thank our contributors, photographers, the individuals who let us tell their stories, and lastly, our advertisers who without you the RGV would not have this magazine brought to you every quarter. Please show your support for these local businesses, which in turn shows them the value of the Edible reader.
Jacqueline Folacci
Publisher
