No, not a secret garden cocktail (drat!). Last night we ate a weird combination of dishes that I was developing for Sunset. I can’t tell you what they were. Even if I could, I wouldn’t because they would sound so amazing you would want to make them, and then you’d only find yourself in the same position I was in yesterday: feeling like an asshole at the grocery store buying tangerines and other winter produce on a beautiful August day.
I made a salad that would taste great on a dreary December or January evening as part of a meal that included a rich meaty stew, but was oddly bracing/cleansing/forcibly bright for a summer day. In summer you don’t need bright. The warmth and sun allow for luscious foods. There is so much great produce around you don’t even crave it. Come winter? Well, then you start to really need something fresh!, you know? Something to cheer you up. Things like lemons and tangerines and frisée and maybe a cozy pilaf (“Mama,” said Ernie, “did you take a picture? It is so beautiful.”) to take the edge off the cold and/or rain.
You don’t need to read me complain about my lot as a food writer–Jess over at Hogwash does it so much better. Here we are, dedicated to helping others cook with the seasons, roasting turkeys in July and baking Christmas cookies in August. I wish you felt sorry for us, but I can tell you don’t, not really.
Post a Comment