The Seasonal Manifesto

The Seasonal Manifesto is my way of introducing you to seasonal eating and my reasons behind it and this project.  It all started when I was looking into getting a veg box from a local farm to cover our festive needs for sprouts, winter carrots are far too many potatoes.  All thought I wasn't blown away by the box I got or the things in it that I couldn't say no to or change it did get me thinking and I think that's more valuable that a wasted parsnip or two.  I think Christmas has become the only time of year that most normal people think about seasonal food, especially vegetables - we all have, or attempt to have, a sprout or two, some fat carrots and maybe even a parsnip or eight at this time of year just because that's what one eats at Christmas dinner with turkey.  There's another thing, turkey!

So this brings me to the point, eating seasonally.  We all do it sometimes and we all fall into common traps with what we perceive to be seasonal - for example lamb is not in season to eat at Easter when it is the most commonly bought joint of meat, a lot of what you find in the shops will be from New Zealand and other exotic climbs or will have been frozen.  I have been making an effort to find out what to look forward to, when it's available and planning in advance what I'll do with it.  I am so excited about this that I cannot wait for May and it's asparagus...  I might even re-name the month in honour of one of my favourite veggies.  

There are a handful of reasons that I have decided to do this but before I get into that I think that it's worth pointing out that I'm not saying we'll go without things, but I do fully intend to cut down on what we don't need - if I want asparagus in January, for example, I know fine well that I will appreciate it so much more if I wait till May...

Seasonal food is full of all the good stuff in food.  If a tomato has come all the way from Morocco in December then it is well travelled before it has even reached us here in the UK, never mind that it's going to take even longer to get to me here in Scotland - over this time it has been loosing nutrients and it will most likely have been picked before it had reached it's full ripeness to make sure it lasts the journey.  Compare this to the tomatoes my neighbour grows in her conservatory every summer and I'm sure you'll agree that the locally grown one will be superior, even if I have to wait to get my hands on it.  Meanwhile I'll use tinned ones thanks all the same.  The fresh local ones will taste better, look better and be even more nutritious and therefore valuable to my body.    

Seasonal food is cheaper.  Our little fictional out of season tomato friend has travelled the same distance that a lot of us consider suitable for a summer holiday before it gets into my hands and it has used up a lot of energy to get here - and that cost has been passed on to the consumer.  Mr Tomato has relatives who have been force matured or force grown completely here in the UK too, and they will have been flooded with light and heat to make it out perform nature - this also costs a small fortune that we have handed on to us.  (I'm excluding forced rhubarb from this, it's a special beast.)   By not buying these expensive foods I am saving up so I can spend it elsewhere - on better meat for example.  

Seasonal food is more likely to be local.  I am really lucky where I live in that I am surrounded in fields of grain, animals and veggies, especially potatoes so there is always somewhere to buy fresh local produce.  Not only does this mean that I am buying food that is tastier and fresher but I am supporting local farmers and producers.  I am also really lucky to have an amazing greengrocers in the next village along from mine and the more shopping I can do there in the next year the better.  I would much rather give my money to local businesses than to supermarkets.  I'm not trying to say that I will not shop in a supermarket - purely because I couldn't avoid it if I tried (but it would help if the 'scoop n save' shop would become a thing again) - but if there's a choice between the butchers, the greengrocers, the fishmongers and the supermarket you can guess where I'll head. 

The final reason is the most important one to me.  I want to get back in touch with the food I eat.  I want to know what will be good at the right moment, what will suit different occasions and push my own boundaries. I need a new challenge and I need to make some big changes in how I eat and fuel my body - so why not make it fun while I'm at it?  

So there we are, my Seasonal Manifesto.  That's what's fuelling all of this food based madness, that

and tea but we shall leave tea for another day.