April is the cruellest month?

Nowadays, with the constant availability of most produce, seasons can seem redundant, and their associations with different foods have become trivial. We can have strawberries, cherries, tomatoes, peas, asparagus (I'm sure you get the idea) all year round. However, being an old woman at heart (and therefore, a keen gardener) I believe it is still important to understand the cycle of the year and how this relates to the food we eat.


Spring is probably my favourite season. Especially when it's sunny. It suddenly becomes easier to get out of bed in the mornings. I actually want to get up, rather than having to employ all my will power to wonder around bleary eyed and grumpy. I love checking each morning which of my seeds have germinated, particularly if it's something I've never grown before. This year, along with my usual vegetables, I've planted "Asparagus Pea", "Lemon Cucumber", "Purple carrots" and an odd looking "squash hybrid". Probably my favorite thing of all that I grow are peas. Ever since I can rememmber my mum has grown peas, and I cant think of many things I enjoy more than picking, and popping open, a pod on a beautiful summer day. Now you may wonder what all this has to do with love. Perhaps it's not blaringly obvious, but to me, there are pleanty of links between love and my growing of vegatables.

Firstly, it is a past time that both me and my mum enjoy. Every spring we plot, plan and plant our garden together. Therefore, one link with love is that it's one way I spend time with someone I love.

Secondly, it is a love of mine. For me, it evokes similar emotions to that of the early stages of a relationship. Excitement, anticipation, eagerness and above all, happiness.

Thirdly, (in fact this is just the "secondly" continued) the cycle of the seasons are comparable to the stages of a relationship.
Spring, as I mentioned above, is similar to the beginning of a relationship.
Summer is the "honeymoon period" where everything is sunny and wonderful.
Autumn is the settling in stage. Perhaps when the first excitement has faded, but your beginning to be comfortable with one another... (or perhaps when the cracks begin to appear)
Winter This is the comfy and cosy stage. You know each other well, and can just appreciate each others company, calmly. (or perhaps when the frostiness and coldness creeps in)

When thinking of the seasons and relationships I was reminded of Nora Ephron's novel Heartburn, where the stages of a relationship are judged through different potatoes.
She also divides the relationship into 4 stages. :
The "crisp potatoes" beginning.
"The middle (I)" where the potatoes get thrown out and replaced with pasta.
"The middle (II)" where a low-carbohydrate diet is annonced by the loved one
The end - the mash potato stage.