Week 28 – In Season This Winter

It’s cool and damp outside. The grass here is green and lanky. We should have mowed our lawn more in the fall, but it’s matted down by the morning frost now. It rarely snows in Washington, and when it does the magic only lasts for a day or so until the temperature rises back to the 40s or 50s, and we go back to dodging puddles on the way to the car.

What amazes me about the winter is not how monotonous the CSA palate can seem at Terry’s Berries; rather I am amazed that fresh food can even be produced in the wintertime.

In the summer, I intentionally kept myself from apples, knowing that the winter would hold months of fresh apples that I could partake in. I love apples, and golly am I thankful that the apple, of all fruits, is the staple that grows here in the winter.

Click on picture for a larger image. For original posting, visit: http://www.good.is/post/a-guide-to-when-fruits-and-vegetables-are-in-season/

Depending on climate, different areas of the country are able to grow different produce from season to season. I really appreciate this infographic (pictured to the left) from Good Magazine (http://www.good.is). It depicts when fruits and veggies are in season in six different areas of the country. California is of course magical in its ability to produce a cornucopia of American staples year round. (Of course, there are tradeoffs: what Californian is ever lucky enough to experience the occasional snow day?)

January is almost over, and spring is only a few months away. Garden plans are brewing in kitchens across America, and signs of spring are already peeking through the soils of our imaginations. Before we know it, April will be here with the cherry blossoms, the tulips, and the sweet greens of spring.

And, since our due date is in April, our baby will be arriving too. A little, local fruit of the womb.

WEEK 28
(Top Row)
Parsnips
Shallots
Head of Garlic
Onion
Potatoes
(Middle Row)
Delicata Squash
Apples
Pears
Carrots
(Bottom Row)
Leeks
Beets
Turnips
Bok Choi