Recently I took the “What’s Your Favorite Season” poll on Quizilla.com and was surprised to find that I am not alone. Forty-five percent of the participants also chose fall as their favorite season, with summer coming it at 27 percent, while spring and winter tied at only 9 percent. I consulted other online polls and found the same results. What gives? I can offer you my many reasons why fall seems to beat all other seasons. 

First, the clothes — fall clothing is much more colorful and interesting, and we can dress in layers then peel if we need to. Second, the weather — the crisp air, falling leaves and all that glorious color! Third, the holidays —– fall is the gateway to Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, the holiday trifecta, which leads me to the real reason that I love fall: food, and all it encompasses (which is a fancy way of including adult beverages). 

Fall food is about harvest and comfort. Bisques, soups, stews, slow cooking (which if you read my column on a regular basis, you should know that I slow cook all year round), sauerkraut and brats, apple pies and crisps, caramel apples, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and yams; do I really need to continue?

Let us not forget the beverages: cider, beer (Oktoberfest!), eggnog, the Starbuck’s Pumpkin Spice Latte, hot chocolate, Beaujolais Nuevo, heavy cabernets, hot buttered rum or any hot toddy. I must be forgetting some other types of drink, but you get the idea. 

Are you excited yet? Me neither. As I sit here in my sweltering kitchen and gazing out the window at blue sky and dancing dragon flies, I’m still digging summer. Give me a slab of barbequed halibut, roasted corn on the cob, some baked beans, an ice-cold pilsner or a glass of crispy Sancerre and I have the makings of a beautiful summer evening. 

Which brings me to what I am preparing for this evening’s summer dinner, skewered barbequed scallops with a cilantro gremolata and Ginger Lime beurre blanc. I found the recipe on Epicurious.com but I enhanced the beurre blanc with a little mango chutney and some fancy pre-seasoned skewers.

Now for the shameless grocery promotion portion of this column: Callison’s Mango Curry Seasoned Skewers caught my eye in a big way. They lured me with the savory combination of flavors and convenience. You just soak the skewers in white wine for 15 minutes, find something tasty to kebab (veggies, chicken, scallops, etc.) and throw it on the barbecue. 

The skewers impart an interesting flavor into the scallops that does not overwhelm. They come in other flavors like Thai-Coconut-Lime, Garlic-Herb, Citrus Rosemary, Honey-Bourbon, Mexican Fiesta, Ginger-Mango, Hickory BBQ and Smoky BBQ. I bought them at Metropolitan Market for $7.95, but then discovered that Stadium Thriftway sells them for $4.99! Price check on aisle rip-off …

So friends, I hope you can forgive my poor prediction of our summer’s early demise. I was excited and got ahead of myself. Even though my error wasn’t as egregious as falsely accusing my daughter’s boyfriend of knocking up another chick, I was still wrong. Don’t get me wrong about this however. Fall IS just around the corner, and when it’s here, I’ll be all over it. Until then …

Eat out, Tacoma. We need your love.