Seasonal Cooking

It's the time of the season to curl up with a steaming bowl of thick soup with some fresh bread on the side. I love winter for its cooking. I love warm comfort foods that taste even better the next day.

Well because the current novel I am reading is going to take me a bit longer to get through, I decided to review a cookbook I bought in the fall. It is called Marie Claire's Seasonal Kitchen by Michele Cranston. It's not the women's magazine. This is a whooper of a book. It's dense and the pages are thick, but it's fabulous. The sections are split into seasons. Each section has an introduction to what's so great about that season. Throughout the seasons, the author talks about the foods that are great at that time of year and different ideas for preparing them. Each recipe has a picture either on the page with the recipe or the following page. This book is beautiful. The food looks homey and rustic. It's inspirational.

On the down side, some of the ingredients I never use, have never bought, or are expensive. That's not to say that I shouldn't push myself out of my comfort zone, but I hate when I have to buy some ingredient and then I only use a bit of it for the recipe and am stuck with the rest. What do I do with it now!? O I should also mention that it was published in Canada, meaning that some words differ as do the measurements. Luckily they translate measurements. I have learned from this book and my British friend that Rocket is Arugula, Aubergine is Eggplant, and so on.

Well I really am inspired by this book and although I may not be daring enough to try all the recipes, or afford all the ingredients, I say take a gander! It may give you some fresh ideas and it will help you see what's naturally fresh in each season.