Eatin’ in Season

Where I live (Northwest Arkansas) spring is bravely fighting against winter for dominance. We’re all hoping spring wins out soon. My husband and I planted the spring greens in the garden last weekend, which inevitably brings thoughts of the first salad completely from the garden, in that magical time when the last of the greens are still alive and the first of the tomatoes are just coming in.

I don’t know why gardeners are so passionate about tomatoes, but it’s probably because every one you can buy in a grocery store is a million times inferior to any one you could find in any backyard garden. Tomatoes are best when eaten fresh off the vine, still warm from the sun that encouraged their growth. You can’t get that at your local mega-mart.

Which reminds me of a simple fact of good eating (not to mention healthy eating) that is all too easy to forget in the winter: the best food, in terms of taste, value and, often, nutrition, is the food that comes from as close to your home as possible. That means locally grown and seasonally grown produce. If you subscribe to this philosophy fully, that means your choices are pretty limited in the winter in a lot of the world, but even if you only eat local when you can you will find yourself enjoying your produce a lot more than if you buy the stuff that’s been shipped over thousands of miles.

This point was brought home to me a couple nights ago, of course, by a tomato. We were eating black bean tacos and I said, “This is the kind of meal that makes me feel sorry for the people who would only make a taco with beef.” (I used to be one of those people, but I don’t eat beef any more.) On further thought, it would have been a perfect meal if not for the mealy, almost completely tasteless tomato. Any tomato eaten out of season will bring disappointment. It probably won’t stop me from eating them, but it is a gentle reminder that we would do well to eat what is in season.

But how do you know what’s in season? There are all sorts of places on the Internet you can look that will tell you generally what is in season when (like this page from Nutritiously Gourmet, scroll down to find the calendar) but it’s best if you can find a site that pertains to the area of the world in which you live. Some examples include the BBC’s site Food in Season, this list of seasonal produce for British Columbia and this one having to do with produce in Texas.

To find out about seasonally available produce near you, search for your city, state or region and “seasonal produce” (without the quotes) in your favorite search engine. And remember to buy from farmer’s markets and local farm stands when you can, and from as close to home as possible when you can’t, for the best possible produce experience. Happy eating!

Eatin’ in Season

Where I live (Northwest Arkansas) spring is bravely fighting against winter for dominance. We’re all hoping spring wins out soon. My husband and I planted the spring greens in the garden last weekend, which inevitably brings thoughts of the first salad completely from the garden, in that magical time when the last of the greens are still alive and the first of the tomatoes are just coming in.
I don’t know why gardeners are so passionate about tomatoes, but it’s probably because every one you can buy in a grocery store is a million times inferior to any one you could find in any backyard garden. Tomatoes are best when eaten fresh off the vine, still warm from the sun that encouraged their growth. You can’t get that at your local mega-mart.
Which reminds me of a simple fact of good eating (not to mention healthy eating) that is all too easy to forget in the winter: the best food, in terms of taste, value and, often, nutrition, is the food that comes from as close to your home as possible. That means locally grown and seasonally grown produce. If you subscribe to this philosophy fully, that means your choices are pretty limited in the winter in a lot of the world, but even if you only eat local when you can you will find yourself enjoying your produce a lot more than if you buy the stuff that’s been shipped over thousands of miles.
This point was brought home to me a couple nights ago, of course, by a tomato. We were eating black bean tacos and I said, “This is the kind of meal that makes me feel sorry for the people who would only make a taco with beef.” (I used to be one of those people, but I don’t eat beef any more.) On further thought, it would have been a perfect meal if not for the mealy, almost completely tasteless tomato. Any tomato eaten out of season will bring disappointment. It probably won’t stop me from eating them, but it is a gentle reminder that we would do well to eat what is in season.
But how do you know what’s in season? There are all sorts of places on the Internet you can look that will tell you generally what is in season when (like this page from Nutritiously Gourmet, scroll down to find the calendar) but it’s best if you can find a site that pertains to the area of the world in which you live. Some examples include the BBC’s site Food in Season, this list of seasonal produce for British Columbia and this one having to do with produce in Texas.
To find out about seasonally available produce near you, search for your city, state or region and “seasonal produce” (without the quotes) in your favorite search engine. And remember to buy from farmer’s markets and local farm stands when you can, and from as close to home as possible when you can’t, for the best possible produce experience. Happy eating!