waiting for the harvest

cerises
Originally uploaded by Nyx.

It's true that, even with the increase in world food distribution, winter produce is a little on the lean choice-wise. I'm certainly looking forward from a change from apples, bananas, pears and mandarines in the fruit section, and potatoes in the veggie section.

Every month I check the BBC seasonal produce site, to see what I should look out for this month, and sometimes torment myself by skipping a few months ahead, so I know what I'll be enjoying in June! :D

Now, I did actually imagine I'd be jumping into a hotpot of delicious european produce once I had settled in a little, but I have found this process to be slower that I first thought.

Initially there's the problem with time. I'm still getting to grips with Paris life time management ('how do people find the time to get everything DONE?' I constantly ask myself). The pace is slow in Darwin, lethargy reigns supreme in the year round hot climate. It takes 20 minutes to get anywhere.
But the difference is not in the comparisons that could be described forever, it's that I had my routine there. I was actually a lot busier in reality. The upshot is that I buy way too much stuff from a supermarket at 8.30pm, and not nearly enough from markets and specialty shops.

The next problem is a lack of space. Monsieur has a bachelor fridge (think Aussie bar fridge, but smaller) which is a logistical nightmare to arrange every shopping day. This basically means no cooking in bulk. No soups, no stews, no big pasta or curry cookups. But we are awaiting delivery of a BIG FRIDGE this weekend. To be lugged up the stairs by Other People.

Onto problem 3. Monsieur has a bachelor kitchen. No tongs, graters, spices, muffin trays, garlic crushers, blenders, peppermills, pointy psycho knives or casserole dishes. The acquisition of a lot of these articles is a lengthy and costly process. Because I buy good quality kitchen products. I refuse to cook with shitty quality. It breaks in about a year and then you just have to go buy it again. Hate that. And you know what? It's really hard to find spice racks here, I'm looking all over the place (no, I'm talking real spice racks, my kitchen generally resembles the spice section of the supermarket).

My final problem is getting Monsieur to eat his proper portion of fruit and vegetables, that's a work in progress (I have successfully fed him a lentilburger, anything's possible)

Anyway, what triggered todays whimsy was some recent sightings of strawberries in a couple of spots. Generally you don't want to get in the way of me and a bowl of strawberries, but that doesn't mean I'll buy them any old time. Without the atmosphere of warm sunny days, the air full of blossoms and bees, it's just not the same. It's the same idea behind why I haven't been tempted to chow down on a mango or pineapple over winter. There's a certain element at work in the enjoyment of seasonal produce that comes with eating it at the right time...