The Seasonal Gourmet

I started The Seasonal Gourmet in 2008 as a way to share my love of cooking and some recipes I had developed.  I am quite passionate about using ingredients that are in season (whenever possible) and hope to provide inspiration to people who are looking to incorporate more local and seasonal foods into their diet.  Seasonal produce not only tastes better but it’s better for our environment and buying local supports our farmers and producers.

I live in Toronto, Canada which is not exactly an oasis of fresh local produce between November and May.  It is impossible to eat a balanced diet of locally produced food during the winter if we do not rely upon greenhouses, frozen and preserved produce and imported goods.  However, we can make smarter choices (eating local asparagus in season instead of buying Peruvian imports, for example) and my goal is to provide some enticing and inspirational recipes so we can focus on eating foods that are seasonally appropriate.

I have no interest in making political statements, nor do I want to lecture people about their choices.  I do want to keep providing information and recipes that are accessible to everyone.  ‘Local’ food movements have often been criticized for being elitist and unrealistic for the average person.  This needn’t be the case.  My recipes are designed so that the ingredients should be readily available at most well stocked grocery stores in North America.   I encourage people to embrace what works for them and their lifestyle and budgets.  I hope that my recipes can serve as a delicious starting point for learning about ingredients and getting the most out of them when they are in season.  

Enjoy!

Trish