Cooking and eating foods from the bounty of each season is a concept to be savored and adapted into our lifestyles. With each new season search out fruits and vegetables, fish and meats, that are grown caught and raised as close to where you live as possible so you can cook with each of your seasons’ freshest bounty.

	Spring…in the Northeast the first signs of growth are the ramps, fiddleheads and rhubarb, followed by asparagus, peas and the beginnings of lush new growth of all herbs and vegetables. The sprouting buds on fruit trees which will turn into peaches or cherries is magical.
	Summer…seek out farmers’ markets or take a drive to find roadside farm stands to buy just picked locally grown corn, heirloom tomatoes, peaches and other fruits and vegetables of every variety, conventional and organic, some of which are found at your favorite food stores. Find a local farm that allows you to pick your own fruits and savor the flavor of real food.
	Autumn…an abundance of the remaining crops of summer extend into this season as well, depending on which region of the U.S. you live in. This season also has its own bounty of foods that thrive in cooler weather such as broccoli and cauliflower, squashes, and root vegetables, apples and pears of many varieties, fresh figs and grapes.
	Winter…the size and diversity of climates in each region of the USA allows for areas that continue to grow a bounty of fruits and vegetables while in the bitter cold Midwest and Northeast of the country where the growing season has ended, the winter months abound with onions, cabbages, potatoes, root vegetables, apples, pears and more which have been grown in the summer and autumn and then stored for use in the winter months.

OCTOBER 2008