To Market, To Market

well, i wasn't exactly buying a fat pig but I did stock up on dry goods. In san francisco the change of seasons can be almost imperceptible except when visiting the farmers market. The very beginnings of summer are creeping now. Tomatoes are coming around and strawberries are starting to be consistently plump and sweet. The mint and basil I bought on sunday are beautiful and full of aroma and flavor. 

The change of seasons also means a change in cooking style. In the winter months i prefer to cook deep, bottomless soups and stews.. casseroles, polenta and other things that stick to your ribs and hold up well to the dense leafy greens that make up most of our diets. Though not vegetarian, meat is not a very big part of our daily meals. Perhaps once a week or so we cook something with meat as the protein but then again sometimes not. So I went to stock up on summer dry goods. A few types of lentils and quick cooking beans. Israeli couscous to replace polenta and beautiful long grain brown rice to replace arborio. The veggies are so good in the summer that I prefer to cook them as little as possible and mix them in with cold beans and lentils for easy summer salads. 

Another thing i have been trying lately... pulling archived cooking magazines to correlate with the particular month. It has been great to leave them on the ktichen island and thumb through them for both inspiration and recipes. At the end of the month I put them away and pull magazines for the next. 

Im looking forward to the really good heirloom tomatoes.. a few more months to go yet.