Living in the Northeast makes it difficult to be a year-round consumer of local food products. I love eating what is in season and even more than that, I love to eat what is sourced locally. With frozen tundra for miles and miles, winter in the Northeast is a particularly difficult time to continue these habits. Ah, how I long for the summer days of farmers markets and trips to orchards.
While it is difficult, it isn't impossible to continue some sort of locavore eating. Mushrooms are in season right now and are perfect for warm, comforting winter dishes. Added to a stew, being the headliner of a risotto, or a garnish to a perfectly grilled piece of steak, Mushrooms are versatile nuggets of flavor.
Shiitake, Oyster, and King Trumpet, and Chanterelle mushrooms are all in season right now and if you don't believe me, take a look at what Pim, of
Chez Pim, found last week in her area
here and
here.
As for keeping on top of what is in season, I have an iPhone app that keeps me on track. It is called
Seasons and after you give it your location, it will provide you with what is in season globally or locally. It is a great little gadget to have on hand! As for the nuggets of joy in the photo above and to the left, they unfortunately were not sourced by me in a forest but instead from my local Whole Foods. They found their fate in a bowl of risotto along side a nicely grilled piece of steak.
