It’s mighty cold outside right now. That’s the thing about January – it’s Winter. And eating seasonally in Winter isn’t always a cake walk. Mmm… Cake. If you’re one of the brave who venture outside the grocery store at this time of year, you’ll know that when the temperature dips below freezing, eating seasonal Winter foods can become a bit of a challenge. There aren’t many vegetables that are in season in such a cold weather month, with the exception of parsnips, rutabagas and carrots. And even those are sourced from storage.
Don’t get me wrong – I love root vegetables. They’re hearty, warm and pretty darn tasty with just a little olive oil and seasoning. But in a season with so little variety in fresh fruits and vegetables, how creative can we really be in the kitchen?
Well, as it turns out, pretty darn creative, actually. It does require a bit of ingenuity but there’s plenty of opportunities to facilitate new taste experiences, even in the dead of Winter. Let’s name five, shall we? Here’s our Seasonal Winter Foods Guide!
1. Preserving, Chilling, Pickling & Canning. With a little planning, experimentation and likely some vinegar, you can enjoy Summer flavors year round by preserving various ingredients like berries, tomatoes, corn, zucchini, peppers and cucumbers. In doing so, you can create new flavor combinations with Winter foods that even the biggest seasonal-eater will enjoy! Tomatoes and Winter squash may not grow together, but it doesn’t mean they can’t cook together.
2. Bakes & CrockPots.The best thing about Winter is the hearty meals that come with it. Stews, braises, soups and casseroles are loaded with seasonal produce, inexpensive cuts of meat and tons of flavor. By playing with ingredient variations, you can slow cook to your mouth’s content. Use what ya got, set the oven on low and see what kind of wow moments can come out of it. Bland, boiled carrots for dinner? I don’t think so! Slow roast those Winter babies until they’re sweet, tender and absolutely mouth watering!
3. Try Something New. Winter is the key season for finding new and unusual produce like kohlrabi, Asian greens, celeriac, the afore mentioned root vegetables, and more varieties of beets, carrots and potatoes than you can count, each with its own texture, flavour and colour. Not all potato dishes are created equal and the more you try, the more inspired you’ll be! It’s a root veg adventure!
4. Re-Think Salad. Seriously. Your standard salad lettuce is definitely a warm weather crop, but there’s all kinds of leafy greens that come into season during the colder months that work amazing in salads. Braising greens, Swiss chard, Asian greens, radicchio, red cabbage, green cabbage, savoy cabbage and the many variations of kale! Or, forego the greens all together and create a warm Winter vegetable salad. Point being, salad is limited only by your imagination. Even in sub zero temperatures.
5. Enjoy. Some Winter foods actually benefit from frost like brussel sprouts, broccoli and kale to name a few. Spring is on the way and with it, succulent sweet peas, lettuce, arugula, scapes, garlic, artichokes, asparagus, and more! Enjoy the hearty dishes while they last because once Summer comes, the rustic ruggedness that embodies Winter meals (and the layers of clothing, hiding the extra poundage we gained eating them), will be but a memory. And a tasty one at that.
