Feb 03 2009
More Winter
Last night, I was sad. Groundhog Day reminded me of just how long this winter has been so far, and how much we still have to go. I don’t put much stock in whether or not our state groundhog sees his shadow (he did); winter seems to go on for another 6-8 weeks after that day, regardless.
Lately, I’ve been really pining for spring and summer, simply for the windfall of produce available at the farmers’ market. I’m lucky that I live in an area that has close to twenty different markets (granted, some are in neighboring towns, but it does make it easy for everyone to visit a market), with at least one market open every day of the week. And while our largest market is open year-round (it moves indoors in the winter), there’s not a whole lot available other than preserves, eggs, root vegetables, and a few greenhouse items. I just miss the summer bounty.
And then I reminded myself of how every summer, I wish for the day I can turn my oven on to roast a chicken or bake a pie. How I long to make a warming soup or mug of hot chocolate. I can do all of these things now, and instead of enjoying what I do have now, I’m wishing for something in the future.
I made a conscious decision to enjoy making the warming, comforting foods that I associate with winter, and stop wishing for something that will come soon enough. Instead, I will look through my recipe collection to see what new recipes I can try out, to take advantage of the cool weather.
And really, I can’t complain. We’ve been light on snow the past few weeks, and though at times the temperature has dropped more than I would like, I’ve seen the sun just about every day lately.
