Yesterday was Earth Day; there was lots to read about, lots to talk about and even more to think about. Not surprisingly, most of my thoughts were about food. Mostly seasonal, local, good for you, good for the planet food. But this is not a lecture on eating well. There’s so much pleasure in eating and cooking, and part of it should be in choosing ingredients, without overthinking or overanalysing them.

Growing up, there was not much talking or thinking about seasonal and local food- it was just the way we ate and cooked: during the autumn and winter months, tomatoes were nowhere to be seen in our kitchen; there were green and purple cabbages, different pumpkins and potatoes, apples and oranges, their colours and texture somewhat reflecting the weather: dark, moody and thick-skinned. The change in fruit and vegetables and the recipes they were used for, would signify the change in season. I remember how, around February, I longed for the first strawberries, and how excited I was when, a few months later, I was finally able to bite into a juicy one and then another and another, until my tummy ached. I remember how we’d always try to slice the first watermelon of the season together as a family, anxious to see if the inside was what we anticipated: perfectly ripe and pink, with just the right amount of firmness and sweetness. Towards the end of summer, overwhelmed by the heat, I would daydream about tights and raincoats, anxious for my mom’s first hearty soup and for the some firm, crunchy apples to land on the kitchen top so I could make a pie. And just like that, autumn and winter would return. And my longing for summer berries, tomato salads and grilled aubergines would start all over again.

This is how we ate. This is how I still (try to) eat, even nowadays, when there’s such an abundance of everything, at any time. I try to keep it as local and seasonal as possible, because it is good for you and for the planet and because I long for variety.  I’m well aware that the pleasure which comes with picking different produce and with cooking and eating is a luxury not everyone has; for many, it’s merely a matter of sustainability. I cherish this pleasure and would like to hold on to it for as much as possible: marking the change of seasons with food, celebrating what each brings and keep on anticipating for what’s to come.

*  Strawberry tops, cucumber peels and leftover lime wedges make great additions to water; less waste, more taste.