For me, loving my grub has meant that I have spent more time learning about where my food comes from. The more I learn, the more I understand how much better grub is when you eat with the seasons! Although the weather hasn’t sent us the clue yet that summer is almost over, the back to school sales is a reminder that September is around the corner.
Why Eat Seasonally?
I think there are two key reasons that you should adopt a diet that changes with each season:
1. Your food won’t be boring and predictable
We all are creatures of habit. It’s so much easier to make the same thing every week then have to come up with new recipes all the time. But you and I both know you’re bored of eating the same thing all the time. Plan ahead and check out some of my recipes (link below) to change up some of your regular dishes for some new, easy and exciting dishes.
2. Your produce will taste way better
It’s fresher, sits for less time and has a short distance to travel to your plate. Embrace the farmers markets and local produce suppliers…that quicker your produce lands on your plate the better.
The sales pitch - If you have the space, time and energy – try growing your own herbs and veggies. We just started and indoor herb garden and already the quality of our food has already improved. I can’t wait until next spring when we start our first vegetable garden!
What’s in for Fall
Here’s a pretty extensive list of what's available for the up coming months:
September:
Apples (fresh)
Arugula (fresh)
Beans, green & wax (fresh)
Beets (fresh, with or without greens)
Blueberries (fresh, mostly wild from up north by now)
Broccoli (fresh)
Brussels sprouts (fresh)
Cabbage (fresh)
Cantelope (fresh)
Carrots (fresh)
Cauliflower (fresh)
Celery (fresh)
Chard (fresh)
Corn (fresh)
Cucumber (fresh field)
Eggplant (fresh)
Garlic (fresh/stored)
Grapes (fresh)
Kale (fresh)
Leeks (fresh)
Lettuce (fresh)
Nectarines (fresh)
Onions (fresh/storage)
Parsnips (fresh)
Peaches (fresh)
Pears (fresh)
Peas (fresh, but getting to be noticably fewer)
Peppers (field, fresh)
Plums, purple (fresh)
Potatoes (fresh)
Radiccio (fresh)
Rapini (fresh)
Raspberries (fresh)
Rutabaga (fresh)
Shallots (stored)
Spinach (fresh)
Squash, winter (fresh)
Strawberries (fresh, day-neutral varieties)
Sweet Potatoes (harvested at end of the month)
Tomatoes (fresh field)
Tomatillos (fresh)
Turnips (fresh)
Watermelon (fresh)
Zucchini/Other summer squash (fresh)
October:
Apples (fresh)
Arugula (fresh)
Beans, green & wax (fresh)
Beets (fresh, with or without greens)
Broccoli (fresh)
Brussels sprouts (fresh)
Cabbage (fresh)
Carrots (fresh)
Cauliflower (fresh)
Celeriac (fresh)
Celery (fresh)
Chard (fresh)
Cranberries (fresh)
Eggplant (fresh)
Garlic (stored)
Grapes (fresh)
Kale (fresh)
Leeks (fresh)
Lettuce (fresh)
Onions (stored)
Parsnips (fresh)
Pears (fresh)
Peas (fresh, but getting to be noticably fewer)
Peppers (field, fresh; will disappear with first frost)
Plums, purple (fresh; a few; mostly gone)
Potatoes (fresh)
Raspberries (fresh)
Rutabaga (fresh)
Shallots (stored)
Spinach (fresh)
Squash, Winter (fresh)
Sweet Potatoes (stored)
Tomatoes (fresh field - will disappear with first frost)
Tomatillos (home stored)
Turnips (fresh)
Zucchini/Other summer squash (fresh)
November:
Apples (fresh/stored)
Beets (fresh, with or without greens)
Broccoli (fresh)
Brussels sprouts (fresh)
Cabbage (fresh)
Carrots (fresh)
Cauliflower (fresh; not many though)
Celeriac (fresh)
Celery (fresh)
Chard (fresh)
Cranberries (fresh)
Garlic (stored)
Grapes (fresh)
Kale (fresh)
Leeks (fresh)
Lettuce (fresh)
Onions (stored)
Parsnips (fresh)
Pears (fresh)
Potatoes (fresh)
Rutabaga (fresh/stored)
Shallots (stored)
Spinach (fresh)
Sweet Potatoes (stored)
Turnips (stored)
All Year:
Belgian Endive or Witloof (Peak in February through May?)
Cucumbers (Greenhouse)
Lettuce (and spinach?), hydroponic
Mushrooms, button
Mushrooms, shiitake (peak in the fall)
Peppers (Greenhouse)
Sprouts, mung bean
Sprouts, alfalfa and other small seeds
Tomatoes (Greenhouse)
Check out this really great blog about local Ontario food if you want to learn more http://seasonalontariofood.blogspot.ca/2008/04/list-of-ontario-produce-by-month.html.
Recipes:
Now let’s put this knowledge to good use!
Traditional Gazpacho
Vegetarian Stuffed Eggplant
California Coleslaw
Sweet Potato Waffles
Why Eat Seasonally?
I think there are two key reasons that you should adopt a diet that changes with each season:
1. Your food won’t be boring and predictable
We all are creatures of habit. It’s so much easier to make the same thing every week then have to come up with new recipes all the time. But you and I both know you’re bored of eating the same thing all the time. Plan ahead and check out some of my recipes (link below) to change up some of your regular dishes for some new, easy and exciting dishes.
2. Your produce will taste way better
It’s fresher, sits for less time and has a short distance to travel to your plate. Embrace the farmers markets and local produce suppliers…that quicker your produce lands on your plate the better.
The sales pitch - If you have the space, time and energy – try growing your own herbs and veggies. We just started and indoor herb garden and already the quality of our food has already improved. I can’t wait until next spring when we start our first vegetable garden!
What’s in for Fall
Here’s a pretty extensive list of what's available for the up coming months:
September:
Apples (fresh)
Arugula (fresh)
Beans, green & wax (fresh)
Beets (fresh, with or without greens)
Blueberries (fresh, mostly wild from up north by now)
Broccoli (fresh)
Brussels sprouts (fresh)
Cabbage (fresh)
Cantelope (fresh)
Carrots (fresh)
Cauliflower (fresh)
Celery (fresh)
Chard (fresh)
Corn (fresh)
Cucumber (fresh field)
Eggplant (fresh)
Garlic (fresh/stored)
Grapes (fresh)
Kale (fresh)
Leeks (fresh)
Lettuce (fresh)
Nectarines (fresh)
Onions (fresh/storage)
Parsnips (fresh)
Peaches (fresh)
Pears (fresh)
Peas (fresh, but getting to be noticably fewer)
Peppers (field, fresh)
Plums, purple (fresh)
Potatoes (fresh)
Radiccio (fresh)
Rapini (fresh)
Raspberries (fresh)
Rutabaga (fresh)
Shallots (stored)
Spinach (fresh)
Squash, winter (fresh)
Strawberries (fresh, day-neutral varieties)
Sweet Potatoes (harvested at end of the month)
Tomatoes (fresh field)
Tomatillos (fresh)
Turnips (fresh)
Watermelon (fresh)
Zucchini/Other summer squash (fresh)
October:
Apples (fresh)
Arugula (fresh)
Beans, green & wax (fresh)
Beets (fresh, with or without greens)
Broccoli (fresh)
Brussels sprouts (fresh)
Cabbage (fresh)
Carrots (fresh)
Cauliflower (fresh)
Celeriac (fresh)
Celery (fresh)
Chard (fresh)
Cranberries (fresh)
Eggplant (fresh)
Garlic (stored)
Grapes (fresh)
Kale (fresh)
Leeks (fresh)
Lettuce (fresh)
Onions (stored)
Parsnips (fresh)
Pears (fresh)
Peas (fresh, but getting to be noticably fewer)
Peppers (field, fresh; will disappear with first frost)
Plums, purple (fresh; a few; mostly gone)
Potatoes (fresh)
Raspberries (fresh)
Rutabaga (fresh)
Shallots (stored)
Spinach (fresh)
Squash, Winter (fresh)
Sweet Potatoes (stored)
Tomatoes (fresh field - will disappear with first frost)
Tomatillos (home stored)
Turnips (fresh)
Zucchini/Other summer squash (fresh)
November:
Apples (fresh/stored)
Beets (fresh, with or without greens)
Broccoli (fresh)
Brussels sprouts (fresh)
Cabbage (fresh)
Carrots (fresh)
Cauliflower (fresh; not many though)
Celeriac (fresh)
Celery (fresh)
Chard (fresh)
Cranberries (fresh)
Garlic (stored)
Grapes (fresh)
Kale (fresh)
Leeks (fresh)
Lettuce (fresh)
Onions (stored)
Parsnips (fresh)
Pears (fresh)
Potatoes (fresh)
Rutabaga (fresh/stored)
Shallots (stored)
Spinach (fresh)
Sweet Potatoes (stored)
Turnips (stored)
All Year:
Belgian Endive or Witloof (Peak in February through May?)
Cucumbers (Greenhouse)
Lettuce (and spinach?), hydroponic
Mushrooms, button
Mushrooms, shiitake (peak in the fall)
Peppers (Greenhouse)
Sprouts, mung bean
Sprouts, alfalfa and other small seeds
Tomatoes (Greenhouse)
Check out this really great blog about local Ontario food if you want to learn more http://seasonalontariofood.blogspot.ca/2008/04/list-of-ontario-produce-by-month.html.
Recipes:
Now let’s put this knowledge to good use!
Traditional Gazpacho
Vegetarian Stuffed Eggplant
California Coleslaw
Sweet Potato Waffles