Eating with the season?

It’s cold and sunny here. Makes a change from grey/wet/foggy/meh.

Our flying trip to London was fun. Everyone masked on train (bar a very odd woman on way back) and most people on public transport (yes, we took the tube). Our appointment was briefer than I expected, so we ended up walking through Knightsbridge to Harrods. That was quite interesting as I’ve never really walked through that (very wealthy) area at a leisurely pace. This time, I could actually look at things, remark on the fancy blocks of flats and supercars parked along curbs.

We decided to start from the top floor of Harrods and work our way down to the food halls. I chose not to do any perfume looking or sniffing. I’d been to the new hall of fragrance a few years back and in truth I don’t find it conducive to a pleasant perfume experience. I mean most things in Harrods are over the top and cheezy, and the perfume area is no exception.

So, we wandered through furniture and housewares (beautiful Hermes and Fornasetti place settings that my son commented he would like for his house at some point …). We looked at ridiculously over-priced computers and tvs. We examined fancy men’s suits (eg, Armani – gorgeous) and shoes. I availed myself of the facilities which really need to be updated.

Then, we got to the food halls. Which are just stunning – as in stunningly beautiful fruit and veg; gorgeous bread (I got an enormous soft pretzel); lovely cakes (my son got a piece of Russian honey cake – around 20 thin layers of sponge with butter cream – I wish I’d taken a picture).

But it was the chocolate hall where we spent the most time. Right near the entrance there’s a Laduree stand and we got macaroons for us, which is a sort of tradition when we go to London. Then it was wandering through to find nice stuff to get for my German teacher (in lieu of payment I bring her ‘stuff’ each week, like wine, plants and bulbs, high end chocs, etc – she’s the mother of one of my son’s friends and was adamant she wouldn’t take payment) and the neighbours who looked after the dog while we were away. After much deliberation we ended up with neon Harrods chocs for Pippa the teacher and William Curley stuff for the neighbours. All boxed beautifully. The woman at William Curley threw in a pack of three chocs gratis so we got to sample them (really nice).

The appointment this trip has resulted in the need for another one in a couple of months, but we’ll stay the weekend that time.

Anyway, briefly on the title which relates to musings on trying to eat more seasonally and mostly failing miserably.

All I want this time of year is hot food (ie, protein seasoned to hell with chili and pepper thrown in the oven, then shredded and thrown into carb – usually rice, sometimes couscous) and stodge. I’m finding it really hard to get enough veg into me or fruit. If I just gave in I’d eat nothing but toasted bagels, oatmeal and rice with whispers of other stuff (roast chicken, roast fish, sauteed veg – see above). I am forcing myself to make veg each day. And because I’m slow on the uptake I finally realised I could throw chopped apples into cooking oatmeal and cook the apples which is how I prefer them (ie, vs raw apples – apples are not my fave fruit).

The acupuncturist ran through a list of things she felt I should be eating to ‘build heat’, many of which I can’t eat anyway due to overlapping health issues and associated drugs (ie, certain foods interfere with drug blood levels – don’t ask).

Dhal is big on her list. I’ll eat it every once in a while but not that frequently (see blood uptake issue above). She also suggested root veg (can’t eat much of those). Squash got a mention (def seasonal) which is fine. Love squash soup. And everything with a lot of pepper, garlic, ginger and cumin – I’m good with that.

Spring and summer are my seasons and I can find loads to eat during warmer weather.

So, I find it a challenge to eat seasonally during autumn and winter. I have fantasies about chicken stews but have yet to find a recipe I really like – and you won’t find much veg in them (just potatoes and/or dumplings). I crave fish and chips and burgers with onion rings. See, not high on veg or remotely healthy.

How about you? Is cold weather your time of year and you revel in associated food? If the answer is yes, do you have any foods/combos that you love and would recommend?