Seasonal foods in September

September 1st, 2010 by Penny Golightly

September foods can vary – you might get cooler weather or you might get an Indian summer with lots of extra ripe tomatoes, aubergines and chillies. Either way, hunting down some tasty seasonal foods will save you some cash or get you the best of the best.

Bon appetit! What will I be looking out for at the market?

Fruit: apples, bilberries, blackberries, blueberries, damsons, elderberries, figs, grapes, greengages, juniper berries, Kentish cobnuts, loganberries, pears, plums, raspberries, sloes. Imported melons, nectarines and peaches.

Vegetables: all salad leaves, asian greens, aubergines, beetroot, broccoli, late summer cauliflower, celery, chillies, chives, courgettes, cucumbers, fennel, globe artichokes, green beans (French and runner), green and red cabbage, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, marrows, peppers, pumpkins and squashes, radishes, red onions, rocket, salsify and scorzonera, samphire, shallots, sorrel, spinach, spring onions, swedes, sweetcorn, summer squash, tomatoes, watercress, wild mushrooms (ceps, chanterelles, oyster, puffball, shaggy ink cap and more).

Fish and shellfish: black bream, brown and rainbow trout, brown hen crabs, brown shrimp, clams, Dover sole, eels, lobster, mussels, native oysters, pilchards, plaice, prawns, scallops, sea bass, signal crayfish, skate, sprats, squid, turbot.

Meat, poultry and game: Michaelmas goose, Autumn lamb, grouse, partridge, venison at its best, wild duck.

Cheeses: Double Gloucester, Farmhouse Cheshire. Brie de Meaux.

I think I’m going to have a go at making some baked marrow or squash this week. I’m leaving a couple of courgettes to grow into marrows in the back garden, so fingers crossed they’ll be ready soon. And I’m also going to grab a big slice of Brie de Meaux to have in baguettes or in a baked fondue. Mmmmmm, tasty!

What are you going to cook?

Seasonal foods in June

June 2nd, 2010 by Penny Golightly

I’ve had a few meals out of the garden already, including lots of different salads, and am looking forward to getting the rest of June’s seasonal foods down on the market.

What’s in season this month?

Fruit: blackberries, cherries, elderflowers, gooseberries, raspberries, redcurrants, rhubarb, strawberries, tayberries. Imported figs, and some mangoes.

Vegetables: asparagus, baby carrots, broad beans, broccoli, chervil, chives, courgettes and flowers, cucumbers, fennel, globe artichokes, green beans, horseradish, lettuce, mangetout, new potatoes, peas, peppers, radishes, rocket and other salad leaves, samphire, spinach, sorrel, spring onions, tomatoes, watercress. Imported aubergines.

Fish and shellfish: black bream, brown and rainbow trout, brown shrimp, cuttlefish, first fresh kippers (run until Oct), grey mullet, haddock, hake, john dory, lobster, mackerel, pollack, prawns, sardines, sea bass, sea trout, signal crayfish, spider crab, whitebait, wild salmon.

Meat, poultry and game: hogget lamb (aged half way between a lamb and a sheep), Welsh lamb.

Cheeses: ewe’s milk cheeses, Stinking Bishop, British goats’ cheese, Farmhouse Cheddar. Bouille, Crottin de Chavignol, Saint Marcellin, Sancerre.

Tonight I’m cooking spicy prawns with stir fried home grown green beans, spring onions, spinach and mustard greens. That’ll be served up with lemon couscous with fresh coriander, mint and parsley. I’m starving now just thinking about it…

What are you going to cook?

 

Seasonal foods in May

May 6th, 2010 by Penny Golightly

I love May’s seasonal foods. The Hungry Gap is closing and farms and gardens are starting to burst into life. I have pots of rocket and baby spinach growing like mad, and am looking forward to the end of May when the risk of frost at night has passed – so many things to plant and move outdoors after that point.

So, what’s good to eat right now?

Fruit: rhubarb, strawberries. Imported Alphonso mangoes.

Vegetables: Asian greens, British asparagus, baby broad beans, cabbage (green), chervil, chives, cucumbers, Jersey Royal potatoes, lovage, lettuce, mint, morel mushrooms, parsley, radishes, rocket, samphire, sea kale, sorrel, spinach, spring greens, spring onions, summer savoury, watercress, wild garlic. Imported Hass avocado.

Fish and shellfish: brown shrimp, crab, cuttlefish, haddock, mackerel, pollack, prawns, sardines, sea bass, sea trout, signal crayfish, Spring lobster, wild salmon.

Meat, poultry and game: duck eggs, new season lamb, poussin (Spring chicken).

Cheeses: ewe’s milk cheeses, Stinking Bishop, Bonchester, English soft cheeses, Sharpham, Wheatland. Bleu d’Auvergene, Chabichou, Reblochon. Pecorino (early).

Can’t wait to get down to the market for some fresh Pecorino, to serve up with my home grown parsley and baby broad beans. What are you going to cook?

Seasonal foods in March

March 1st, 2010 by Penny Golightly

Seasonal food in March is pretty strange – there isn’t a lot of it, for a start. Much of March is traditionally known as the ‘hungry gap’, where stored foods are running out, most overwintering veggies are past their best, and the first Spring crops won’t be ready for a few more weeks.

Things are improving in the UK as growers extend growing seasons with polytunnels, coldframes and greenhouses, and try out new varieties of plants. Keep an eye out for any of the fresh homegrown foods you can get hold of, including:

Fruit: early/forced rhubarb, apples and pears from store.

Vegetables: asian greens, cabbage (green), chicory, endive, kale, leeks, nettle tops, parsley, parsnips, purple sprouting broccoli, sea kale, sorrel, spring greens, spring onions, swedes, wild garlic, winter varieties of lettuce.

 

Fish and shellfish: bass, brown crab, clams, cockles, pollack, young mackerel, mussels, rock oysters, sardines, scallops, sea trout, wild salmon.

Meat, poultry and game: not the top season for any meats in particular.

Cheeses: Cotherstone, Stilton. Comté, Roquefort.

I think I’ll be cooking up some bashed neeps (swedes) and wilted curly kale to serve with burgers or sausages, some noodle soup with Asian greens and shellfish, and some sprouting broccoli baked with eggs and garlic.

What are you going to cook? Do you have any favourite recipes?

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