ON SEASONAL & LOCAL COOKING

It seems to me natural that eating, and cooking, and diet, follow the rhythm of the seasons. In the early summer, when the lettuce is prolific in the garden, it seems logical to have meals which center around salads. When the cold Colorado winters settle in, and the days shorten, I yearn for slow-cooked foods – stews and casseroles, soups and sautéed vegetables.

It’s not a hard and fast rule. I certainly have the occasional salad in the winter – although I find I have lost interest in non-local, out of season tomatoes flown in from who knows where – after a summer of picking them out of our garden, an imported winter tomato has no taste or texture. 

In no way am I a 'local' or 'seasonal' fanatic, although I admire Barbara Kingsolver's experiment. ("Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" is certainly a good read; she shares her  family's attempt to eat local with humor and insight).  Human beings have been storing and preserving food, as well as trading for non-local goods, as long as there has been history.  I love many imported food items - chocolate, coffee, and spices being absolute essentials of life.  And there's no way that you could ever get 'local' rice in Colorado - but what would the dinner table be without risottos or Chinese food?  My freezer is stocked with summer tomatoes reduced to sauce, blanched beans, sliced peaches, grated zucchini - all summer produce waiting to be enjoyed in the depths of winter.

But following the seasons – looking at what’s fresh in the garden or the farmers market, and listening to what my body tells me about what it wants to eat – results in incredible pleasure. Using good quality in season produce, prepared simply, it is easy to have wonderful meals, with great taste and great nutrition and great fun, with very little work.