Well, hello there!
Thanks for finding me in this little green patch of cyberworld.
Come join me on The Seasonal Eater as we experience the year through food.
It’s about food in season, local produce and wild delights from the Dutch soil. Here I’d love to share with you the fresh produce from the Netherlands that’s READY TO EAT RIGHT NOW. It’s what I see at the markets, harvest from a farm or my garden or forage from the wild, with a highlight on food grown outdoors locally and organically.
We normally divide our year into calendar months but we can also taste it through the fruit and vegetable seasons. Think spring rhubarb and asparagus, summer berries and tomatoes, autumn mushrooms and pears, and winter cabbages and leeks. There used to be no other way than to eat in season: you ate from the plants or trees that you could grow in your climate zone. And the coming of a particular fruit or vegetable was cause for celebration (remember biting into your first juicy strawberries for the summer?). When food is in season, it tastes its very best and is available in abundance, which is good for your wallet too. The periods of plenty are perfect for stocking up by making jams and preserves or freezing excess for the rest of the year – you’ll thank yourself in the colder months when you’re tucking into the summery raspberry jam!
I love to see how fruit and vegetables grow – and better still, grow them myself – and find that this keeps me closest to the seasons. I’m fascinated by the beautiful plants that produce our food and when I see food on a plant almost ready for harvest (like an overloaded cherry tree), my mouth immediately starts to water. Food picked from the wild is nature at its purest – luckily foraging happens to be my number one hobby!
People often ask, ‘How do I know what’s in season?’ If you can, grow your own fruit and vegetables, but if that’s not your thing or you don’t have the space, try a seasonal veggie box or the farmers’ market – chat up the farmer or stall holder who can tell you what’s delicious right now. Also the specials at the market (or supermarket) are also a good indication of what’s in abundance.
So I hope you will enjoy the goodies on The Seasonal Eater, I welcome your feedback and I look forward to tasting the year in food with you.
Happy Eating!
Jeanne
PS. Who am I, you might be asking?
I write for a living and I think about food most of the day – even in my dreams. I love to cook and eat, I love growing all things edible and enjoy getting my hands dirty on the farm where I volunteer, and find that travelling keeps me sane. I’m from Australia, have Malaysian roots and have called the Netherlands home for the past seven years. Drop me a line to say hello!
The Seasonal Eater 