Autumn

Samuel and I have decided (a while ago) to try and buy mostly seasonal produce.  Though we haven’t quite worked our way to buying only locally grown produce (which I would like to do) I think this is a good step.

During times of imperial colonization, rich lords would import exotic plants and food.  To serve pineapple to your guests in England was a huge statement about how wealthy you were.  Eventually technology and the rise of the middle class democratized this practice, so that everyone in the U.S.A. and other temperate nations could have easy access to pineapple and other tropical produce at any time of the year.  It is wonderful, but has its cost, including the destruction of ecological systems, the use of pesticides, and the massive amounts of fuel and energy used to transport the food to us.  I haven’t done much research on this, but I have heard that fruit taken from the vine long before it is ripe (in order to keep it from going bad before it reaches us) prevents the development of many of the vitamins that fruit is supposed to have.  To top all of that off, in the Word of Wisdom it says that “wholesome herbs” are to be used “in the season thereof…with prudence” (D&C 89:10-11).

I am not trying to call out other people who eat mangoes or whatever.  This is all my own personal interpretation and my own personal decision.  We still buy out-of-season produce sometimes, but we try for the most part to focus our appetites on things that are in season, because we believe it is healthier and better in many ways.

Here is a Utah harvest calendar I found at http://www.utahcountyonline.org/Dept/Exten/Data/harvestcal.pdf

As you can see, the only seasonal things right now are apples and cabbage.  We did buy those things when we went grocery shopping last week, but also a few other items that aren’t in season….

Some things are harvested at certain times, but can last for months in a cool, dark, dry area with plenty of airflow.  These include squash, potatoes, and carrots.  Onions will also last for a while.  I can’t wait until I have a garden and can grow and store these things on my own.

If you live in a different state, you will have different seasonal things.  Here’s the calendar for Kansas. It has a lot more options, I’m guessing because it is more agricultural, is not a desert, and has a slightly warmer climate.  Or it might be because the people who made the calendar did more research.

Things we eat using the current seasonal produce for Utah (and will eat all winter long):

Stir-fry with cabbage, carrots, and onions
chicken noodle soup with carrots and onions
a million things with potatoes
stew with carrots, potatoes, and onions
squash soup and other things made with squash
pot roast with cabbage and potatoes
chili (only uses onions, the rest is canned tomatoes and dried beans)

and of course there are many other dishes that use no fresh produce but only canned produce, along with grains.

We are lucky to have lots of frozen deer meat for many of these meals.  I hope to always be friends with a hunter.

Actually, I think the main reason it makes me so happy to eat seasonal produce is that it makes me feel like Laura Ingalls Wilder.