Keeping with the seasons

So cooking within the various seasons is proving to be a greater challenge and restriction than I had imagined. The other day some of my favourite fruits went on sale. But they are summer fruits!!!! I tried to justify buying the imported foods, but alas, my decision to buy within the seasons array of fruits and vegetables kept me from indulging. It is teaching me about the priviledge I have of living in a city that is able to important just about anything I could ever want or imagine. It is teaching me that just because I can doesn't mean that I should.

I cooked Latin American food last weekend (pictures soon to be posted) and that was pretty difficult to figure out what I wanted to cook without violating my decision (there were so many recipes that look good!). But perhaps I tried recipes that I would not have had I not had a list of fruits and vegetables from which I could chose.

I purchased an acorn squash the other night - $0.69!!!! How crazy is that??!!! I couldn't believe that I have never discovered squash before at the grocery store when I think of the nutritional and monetary value ratio! And then last night, I craved pizza like you wouldn't believe. I'm going to be trying a new recipe soon (Butternut Squash and Sage Pizza) but last night I refrained from purchasing vegetables outside of fall list simply to satisfy a want. So I made a pizza with olives and onions. and wow - SOOOOOOOOO good!!!

Last night I enjoyed a bowl of red grapes. They were delicious. I've been eating pears and apples and cranberries. While I want other fruits (the grass is greener always on the other side??!!), I am beginning to savour what I do have.

I am beginning to see the joy of the fall seasonal fruit and vegetables.

Crazy Cravings!

Tofu Bites and Sauce

Normal people crave chocolate. Or cheese. or ice cream.

But what do I crave lately? Tofu. You have my permission to now declare me crazy.

After a week of craving tofu, I finally gave in to my own insanity. I cooked tofu "breaded" with nutritional yeast (an excellent source of Vitamin B12) in oil. The sauce is soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, ginger and garlic. So good!

Maybe now I'll be more like normal people now that i have fulfilled my craving of late. Be on the lookout for scrumptious chocolate recipes on here! *grin*

(Recipe from Simply in Season Expanded Edition (World Community Cookbook))

Apple Crisp with a Twist

In line with my "autumn foods" I found a recipe for an apple cranberry crisp. However, I adapted the recipe to make it healthier than the original - for the topping I used soy flour, rye flakes, rolled oats and oat bran. So very good! Good as a dessert or healthy enough for breakfast tomorrow!

Simply in Season

Lately I have been doing a lot of thinking about eating in season, eating locally and sustainable living. I've been reading various books and talking with owners of farmers markets and other interesting people. We live in a society that is able to get whatever we want, whenever we want. Don't get me wrong, I love eating exotic fruits and vegetables and crave summer produce all year round. But I have been thinking that living in this freedom robs me of being able to enjoy and anticipate the various seasons.

So much of life is spent yearning for the future or dwelling in the past. Society is built around lamenting what we don't have and ignoring what we do. And we forget to live in the present moment. To be content with what we have. So in some small way, I think living in season will help me with this. My goal is to spend the next year living simply in season. To savour the foods that each season brings. I think that this will make me appreciate what I have more. To enjoy foods that i may not have tried otherwise. To master a repertoire of foods for a particular season. And to enjoy the first fruits of the next season.

Fall is here and with it comes hearty stews, pumpkin pie and other wonderful comforting treats as the cooler weather comes rushing in. I'm going to discover pumpkins and squash (I've dabbled in both once or twice, but now I will really discover them). My fruit will mainly be pears, grapes and cranberries (and probably apples here and there as an apple a day keeps the doctor away!). Sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and kale! Let the cooking begin!

Russian Beet Stew

All my international cooking has successfully managed to avoid Europe... until yesterday. Alas, I broke open the the spine of the Eastern European cooking book that I recently purchased and cooked an amazing and hearty Beet Stew. My fingers turned bright pink, but it was well worth it! Beets, Carrots, Onions and mushrooms (the best tasting mushrooms ever I must add! They were left whole and somehow were full of flavour!). it was topped with a little sour cream and paprika. Perfect for a fall day!

Flour and Seeds

There are times in life when you face hard, maybe unexpected or maybe long coming, things. And there are times when nothing can be said, or done to make it better. There are times when things are lost and cannot be replaced. And there are times, within those moments, where silence seems not enough, inaction is inadequate, and the need to do something is strong. I know people who have planted seeds in symbolism of hope of the days to come or in memory of something or someone that was lost. I know others who write, and others still who paint or draw.

My thing is cooking. So I was thinking about my need to do something - anything - and the limits that the details of my life put on such action. I feel helpless. So I have decided to turn my pain and sadness into something beautiful and wonderful and new. Just like I did with the Moroccan food 4 years ago. I am going to master the art of baking bread - in memory, in grief, in anticipation, in hoping for the days to come. Bread will become my symbol of how God works through this particular chapter of my life. It will be my reminder.

Yesterday I cooked my very first loaf of bread from scratch! My new recipe book says that one should start with a white loaf as it is pretty simple for a first loaf. I don't like to do things the easy way though and plain white bread is not the most nutritious. So I decided to attempt a whole grain loaf - with bran, molasses and sunflowers. I enjoyed the process of kneading, and then punching down the risen dough and shaping the bread. The reward of the smell of baking bread was quite wonderful. But the prize - a perfectly shaped bread that tasted amazing. I don't think I've ever tasted bread that good before!

So my new adventure is off to a great start!