One of the most difficult parts of trying to eat as much as possible from within 100-miles of my house has been finding recipes that respect the seasonal changes in locally available produce. I’ve tried a few cookbooks that were advertised as “seasonal,” but the only one to live up to its cover blurb has been Simply in Season, a World Community Cookbook edited by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert. I could tell that these people were serious about season from the cover photos, which actually feature turnips.
I picked up this cookbook a week ago at Ten Thousand Villages (a fair trade store) and I’ve already used it multiple times; most notably to cook my mother dinner last night. The recipes I used for Mother’s Day dinner were from both the winter and spring sections of the cookbook. We are still transitioning to spring in terms of the availability of local produce. I cooked “maple parsnip soup” with the remnants of last years parsnip harvest from Bryson Farms. A truly delicious and simple recipe that I will definitely add to my menu rotation when next years’ parsnips start arriving at my door. I also cooked up the “shiitake mushroom pasta” from the spring section, substituting the last of Bryson Farm’s sweet potatoes for the pasta. Also a yummy recipe. I served the mushroom and sweet potatoes with Nigella Lawson’s salmon cakes using tinned Raincoast Trading wild caught “selectively harvested” sockeye salmon. The guest of honour seemed pleased with the dinner and that pleased me.
Ten Thousand Villages, 371 Richmond Road, Ottawa, ON K2A 0E7, 613-759-4701
Green Living Ottawa 