A recurring topic on The Happy Recessionist will be seasonal cooking (and eating, too of course!). When I stopped eating meat, vegetables and fruit assumed an even larger role on my plate, so I became more aware of harvest schedules. Not only do fresh fruit and vegetables in season taste better (because they don't have to be grown in greenhouses or shipped halfway around the world!), but also they are much lighter on the pocketbook (giving them The Happy Recessionist's stamp of approval)! Which is why when the prices of red bell peppers and broccoli are at their lowest, I buy up extra to freeze for eating in the off-season.For the most part, though, I try to stick to the local harvest calendar. My grandfather always planted a large garden, and as a child I would help Grandmom each summer to clean stringbeans and make bread and butter pickles, still my favorite. After Pappy died, we found his notebooks, where year after year he had kept meticulous notes on his planting schedules, when the cherry trees blossomed, and how many bushels of sweet corn were picked. I consider myself fortunate to have inherited a smidge of his agrarian soul.
One of my favorite books on the subject is The Cook & The Gardener by Amanda Hesser. It details a year she spent in Burgundy, France, cooking alongside a seasoned French farmer. Each chapter presents the month's bounty, as well as menus of recipes featuring the fruits and vegetables harvested. The author's entertaining essays and enthusiasm for good eating are even more reason to check out this book, especially if you are looking for an introduction to the year-long cycle of "what's cooking".
This week in our garden the pomodoros are FINALLY ripening (it is never soon enough for me!), and our basil bush is full, a sure sign that summer has truly arrived. :-) So this evening I plan to chop a few tomatoes and then add slices of fresh goat's cheese (of course you could also use feta or mozzarella, if you prefer), some torn basil leaves, a drizzling of olive oil, and a little fresh ground pepper---also known as a plate of July at our house!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Painting is Still Life with a Chest of Drawers by Paul Cezanne
