THURSDAY 6th MARCH 2025

I’m a little obsessed with seasons.

As we enter March, I love that we will soon be welcoming cooler weather, golden leaves and fabulous autumn produce.

I know many people who would say that their favourite season is Spring. For chefs in particular, it seems to be the ‘sexy’ season with all its new growth and promise of warmer weather.

Summer is a favourite season among many people too, for its long days filled with sunshine and an abundance of fresh fruit, including the delicious stone fruit that piles grocery store shelves through that season.

The odd person I know actually prefers winter, for its respite from the heat, and for the low-and-slow cooked winter dishes that are full of flavour and comfort.

But my favourite season is actually Autumn and I’m very happy to now be in it.

The thing I like most about seasons, especially when living in Wagga, is that they exist! Having just been to Bali, there is really very little seasonal adjustment, basically moving through the year from very hot and humid to just regular hot and humid. Our November trip to the Carribean last year was in their winter, but there were still hurricanes to be avoided, and it could definitely not be described as cool in their ‘Winter’ with a couple of days so hot I couldn’t do more than about 200 metres of walking without needing to stop and cool down (with a frozen Margarita of course 😋).

I love having something to look forward to and the fact that we get adjustments to our weather, our daylight hours, and importantly what we grow and eat makes me very happy. I agree with the saying that ‘variety is the spice of life’ and eagerly awaiting perfectly ripe and in season pears that you haven’t eaten since last Autumn, for example, is a true delight.

When you look at seasonal food, you can see that nature has a way of providing what we need and when. Root vegetables, ideal for serving in warming and hearty comfort meals like stews and soups are in season in winter; citrus is also abundant in those months, full of vitamin C that boosts immunity. Serving up a gorgeous salad with lots of green leaves, oven-dried tomatoes, toasted nuts, feta cheese and slices of fresh stone fruit is a delight on a warm midsummer’s day and are rich in the nutrients that help protect us from the harsh sun.

Eating in season is a little harder than it might have been in the past, with many suppliers and supermarkets using cold storage and other preservation techniques to ensure they can offer customers all things all year round. I’m not an expert on what that does to the nutritional value of produce, but I do know that it definitely doesn’t help its flavour or texture or freshness, and of course this storage and associated transport adds to the cost, both economically and environmentally.

I actually wonder how many people know what foods belong to which season? I reckon many would know the obvious ones, like asparagus in spring or tomatoes in Summer; a few would know the moderately simple ones like navel oranges in winter or figs and zucchini in Autumn. Of course, different growing regions have differing timings and things like bananas, grown pretty much exclusively in Northern Australia, are much less impacted by seasons (due to its more sub-tropical climate) and are pretty much available year-round.

There are a few ways we can learn about food’s seasonality.

Of course, Google can be a big help, or researching through websites dedicated to increasing knowledge about these things. If you are in Australia, make sure they are Australian sites. The Sydney Markets website is a good one I go to quite regularly.

Going to your local farmers market, or anywhere that supplies direct from the farm/producer will definitely help identify what’s currently in season. I get very excited when I see the cherry farmer for example, setting up a roadside stall not far from me in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Another simple way, although not always 100% accurate, is to look at the price and quantity of items at food retailers. This week, at Wagga Fruit Supply (where I do most of my fruit and vegetable shopping), I saw grapes at $4 a kilo, which would be very unlikely if they weren’t in season (they also looked fabulous and plump, were firm and smelt and tasted terrific!)

The other way to learn what is in season is to ask someone! Your local greengrocer or farmers’ market will probably know quite a bit, or feel free to ask me! Currently in season in this part of the world are some of my very favourite fruits like passionfruit and figs; and I’m still getting some fabulous end of Summer tomatoes (thanks Mates Gully for the delicious ones I bought at the market on Sunday); and pears and plums are making an appearance on my shopping list as they begin their Autumn picking.

There’s also some yummo vegetables in my fridge right now, ready for making into early-Autumn dishes. Zucchini is one of my go-tos at this time of year, as are eggplants and capsicum, together the base for some fabulous Mediterranean style recipes like ratatouille or a vegetable lasagne, and there is a sneaky cob of corn or two in my fridge too – wanting to enjoy them simply grilled with butter, grated parmesan and lots of salt and pepper before their season runs out.

Climate (and food) are not the only things that have seasons. This last weekend also marked the end of the Cricket season for this family. My nephew Alex played his last under 16’s game on Friday, and although they didn’t make it through to next week’s Grand Final it was lovely to watch him, and his teammates battle it out in a close game on a beautiful Wagga evening. I’ll miss those opportunities to sit with my sister and watch him play through summer but will look forward to it coming around again in the new season, which starts in October.

Will’s team also missed out on moving through to the next final, losing to a very strong South Wagga team on Saturday. I was hoping a good lunch would help our RSL boys chase down the 200+ runs, but it was not to be. This week I made sweet chilli crumbed chicken wraps; lamington iced cupcakes and also included some watermelon and grapes (in season!) for a cold snack and some extra energy. It will be strange not getting up early on Saturdays to cook for them, but over the winter break I’ll hopefully get to stay in my warm bed a little longer on Saturday mornings and given I have less emotional attachment to AFL than Cricket, it may also be a less stressful six months 😜

And then, there are the seasons of life.

No need here to get too detailed and sentimental, but can I say this ‘finished working’ (also known as retirement) season is pretty damn good😍. I’ve been busy doing quite a bit of OzHarvest stuff, lots of cleaning, plenty of cooking and a heap of planning for our upcoming trip to South America. Just under three weeks to go, yay! The season of Travel, Travel, Travel is definitely here!

As I sit here, about to hit ‘publish’ it’s currently 21C outside, heading for a top today of 33! Ummm, I’m ready for Autumn now, please!

(a quick postscript – I DO NOT like the storm season. Thinking of and sending love and hugs to our family, friends and others in the path of Cyclone Alfred.)