**This is our monthly series that aims to help you cook more seasonally (visit the first one, Seasonal Cooking For May, for an introduction and definition of “seasonal”)**
How did you do cooking seasonally in January? Looking back over our menu, I find that we had quite a bit of roasted vegetables like cauliflower, carrots, parsnips and potatoes. I steamed and sauteed broccoli plus some of our frozen garden green beans and corn.
I try not to rely as much on green salads, as lettuce and spinach are not really “in season” though of course they can always be found. But we do eat either lettuce or spinach a couple times a week- as it’s one of the few vegetables my teenaged daughter will eat.
Hmmm, I wonder how it will look when it’s just Brian and I in a couple of years- can we really “eat seasonally” and not have green salads as much? They’re such a regular part of our meals and an easy way to get fresh vegetables.
Honestly, the “lettuce problem” is the hardest part of truly eating seasonally in the winter for me – I’d be really interested to hear how you deal with this- do you continue to eat lettuce through the winter, or do you eat only what you know grows during January through March?
Anyway, February is pretty much a repeat of January – meaning, how creative can we get with our freezer and pantry items? If you planted purple-sprouting broccoli, however, you may be getting some fresh garden produce by the end of the month.
Produce in season for February:
- Apples (stored)
- Avocados
- Broccoli
- Brussels Sprouts
- Cabbage
- Carrots/Parsnips (stored)
- Cauliflower
- Celery
- Chard/Kale
- Citrus (lemon, orange, grapefruit)
- Endive (and some cut-and-come-again covered greens)
- Garlic (stored)
- Green Onions
- Leeks
- Mushrooms
- Onions (stored)
- Pears
- Potatoes (stored)
- Purple-sprouting broccoli
- Radicchio
- Rutabagas
- Winter Squash (stored)
From the freezer and pantry:
- Tomato products (Roasted Tomato Sauce, Addictive Tomato Chutney, canned plain tomatoes, seasoned sauce and garden salsa)
- Frozen corn and green beans
- Frozen blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries
- Pickled foods: cucumbers, beans, and asparagus
- Sauces and condiments: Plum sauce, chutneys, jams, etc.
- Oil-packed dried tomatoes
- Frozen chopped sweet peppers
- Dried fruit
- Dried herbs
Recipes for February:
We’re still eating a lot of soups (at least once a week- sometimes two), but I’d like to do more slow-cooker meals this month, too like this one:
I actually am not a lettuce lover. So it doesn’t bother me 🙂 Although, we do have a hydroponic lettuce grower here so I could still eat it “local.”
Depending on where you live it is possible to get lettuce to over winter. We live in Zone 5 Utah and we can have lettuce until December and then again by mid March. In January and February we usually switch our salads to spinach, chard, kale and mache (corn salad). Of course all of this is grown in cold frames or a hoop house. No way we could get it to survive unprotected. I have a friend that has a giant hoop house with lots of sun and he is able to grow lettuce year round inside!
I love to read vintage homemaking magazines. In one of my issues the couple ate a green salad a couple of times per week but she used collard greens or kale which would be seasonal for us here in the Southern states. I notice that cabbage is also on the seasonal list. I recently purchased my first head of savoy cabbage and it might well be used for a green salad, being more tender than usual cabbage.
Ah, yes- we do love cabbage and you’re right: savoy is pretty close with a mild flavor and texture. My daughter would still turn her nose up, though. sigh.
I guess you mean seasonal for your specific locale? I can grow lettuce through the winter here in west Tennessee with row covers or cold frames, or indoors with lights (if I plan it well enough to plant sufficiently early in the fall so they can put on good growth before December), and lettuce grows through the winter further south.
I can grow lots of greens in the open garden, covering only when the temps go down in the teens (usually once or twice for a few days each winter) — like arugula, swiss chard, mustard, turnip greens, beet greens, and kale. I can use these to make wilted salads (not the same as lettuce, I know . . .)
Diana
Well…yes. 🙂 I realize things are different down south, but I think the majority of the country has slim pickin’s in January and February.
My area, like yours, is also known for being able to grow things year-around – with row covers and cold frames. I admire you, though, as I’ve found I don’t like gardening in the rain and cold, so my garden is limited to what continues to grow- like chard,kale, and such. We don’t like them as much in raw salads, unfortunately. Sigh.
In Utah the only thing we grow in the winter is icicles! I buy spinach and lettuce during the winter for our salad fix. I do have a bunch of dehydrated swiss chard and spinach from the summer that I use in a pastas and soups for some added greens.
I have to let you know I’m down to my last spaghetti squash from the summer, I’m saving it for a special dinner. This is the last fresh produce I have left from my garden. Everything else is canned, dehydrated or frozen.