It’s an overcast day in South Louisiana and the oven is off, which means the air conditioner is actually conditioning the air in the bakery.  If I didn’t know better, I’d swear we were actually into Fall now.  Rob Perillo reminded me that we still have about a month to go while I watched the news this week.  While I love the relative accuracy of his forecasts, I loathe being reminded that my camping gear and sweaters will stay in hibernation for another four weeks.

South Louisiana summer is fantastic for the first month or two.  Everything is a lush, decadent green and I remember how fun kids splashing in swimming pools are and how refreshing a glass of lemonade is.  Then May ends and all of a sudden the sadness of a six month, subtropical summer hits me.  It will be this way until mid-October.

Today I can fool myself, though.  With the A/C on and the clouds overhead I can make a soup or chili, grab the green cashmere blanket next to the sofa, throw it over my legs, and live like it really is Fall. 

I was talking to JP a couple of weeks ago and he mentioned that Santa Fe Cornbread was coming back on the menu… what a perfect bread for this time of year.  It has just enough kick from the jalapenos to warm the mouth but it is perfect alongside soup or chili, adding a layer of depth to an otherwise flat meal.

Summer’s cruel, sticky fingers still grip South Louisiana but today we can imagine what it will be like soon when sweaters come out of boxes, tents get set up in the Kisatchie Wilderness, and soup replaces barbecue on our kitchen tables.