Seasonal Foods

[amandaelizabeth]

As food is the new hot topic at the moment, I thought I would ask if you had a seasonally available food that was special. 

I have just polished off the first asparagus of the season, so I know spring is almost here.  I see the first of the strawberries are advertised and if they ripen before our province's show days - later this month - it usually means a good summer.  Cherries mean Christmas to our family as we hope they will come into season in time for Christmas Dinner dessert.

What about you?

[Sharnita]

It is autumn here so apples, squash, pumpkins as far as produce.

[Pippen]

Me too! Asparagus for dinner. Yumm. Are you in HB?

[magician5]

When I'm low on ideas, I check this interactive map to "what's in season now".

[amandaelizabeth]

Sadly no.  However when we first came to NZ we lived in Napier for 20 odd years, and I still have parents and brothers living there, so I consider it home as far as we have a home.   I went to Rotorua at the weekend and picked up several kilo's of asparagus in Matamata, so  I am the most popular person in the office right now,  but by golly we are getting through the butter, nobody wanted to wait until we bought the Parmesan. 

[demarco]

Concord grapes are in season now.  Their season is short. I love these things. The  skin is sweet, the inside is sour and a bit slimy and there are rather big seeds in them. 

[Slartibartfast]

How am I supposed to be good and financially responsible when people are putting pumpkin in food and beverages all over town?  It's cruel, I tell you!

[Isometric]

Err... I know I should be healthy and list some fruits and vegies, but Easter Egg chocolate- it's just so different and yummy! And hot cross buns - choc chip.

On the healthier side, I just adore Summer fruit - cherries, grapes, peaches, nectarines, and berries are all mere weeks away, yay!

[MrsCrazyPete]

Pumpkin, apple and maple everything! Yummmmmm.

Plus we are vacationing in VT right now and there's maple syrup samples and cheese samples EVERYWHERE. We had butternut squash and mushroom risotto cakes, with apple pancakes for breakfast yesterday. I could eat that again every day!

[staceym]

How am I supposed to be good and financially responsible when people are putting pumpkin in food and beverages all over town?  It's cruel, I tell you!

oh man I so agree with you.  I LOVE pumpkin and the building where I work has an Au Bon Pain down in the lobby and I loved fall because they come out with their pumpkin muffins - I LOVE them - but sadly I've been watching my weight and don't eat sweets anymore - so no more pumpkin muffins for me 

[sidi-ji]

My local market has yummy squashes,gourds and berries .  Soups and roasted vegetable dishes forthcoming!  Lady finger apples( or "Lady"), honeycrisps, and other apples  have arrived.

[Outdoor Girl]

Spring:  I wait for asparagus and rhubarb - not together, though!

Early summer:  peas, right off the vines.  They rarely even make it into the house.  Strawberries, if I can get them before the chipmunks do.  I got none this year - currently planning lethal solutions since relocation obviously didn't work.

Summer:  green and yellow beans, straight out of the garden, into the pot for dinner.  Broccoli the same.  I don't really like broccoli.  Until I cooked up the ones I'd just picked from the garden.  I'd bought 4 plants as a separation between bean plantings, more than anything.  I'll be buying more next year.

Later summer:  Roma tomatoes made into bruschetta with garlic and basil, all from my garden; cucumbers, sliced with the rind still on, with just a little salt.

Fall:  butternut squash made into soup with the recipe Venus posted in the recipe section; pumpkin made into pumpkin pies

Winter:  LOVE all the root vegetables:  beets, turnip, rutabaga, carrots, parsnips, potatoes

[Hmmmmm]

Satsuma oranges are coming into season right now for us.  I love snacking on these.

And of course pumpkins are coming so I'll be making my once a year pumpking chile. 

[Thipu1]

Winter squash.  Leftover rice, beans and chicken baked in an acorn squash is delicious.

A great variety of apples.  Lady apples will be coming soon for the holidays.

Clementines.  For some reason, little crates of these surface in the autumn.

Root vegetables.  Turnips and parsnips are so good in a fragrant stew.

Concord grapes. 

[Nibsey]

It's Kale season and the Kerrs pink potato season is just ending. Can't wait to make colcannon with both.