Issue #5 - The Seasons

Lou returns - to eat with the seasons

Note from Editor

Hello everyone! Happy Wednesday!! It’s our fifth issue, with the return of an old friend, Lou Tamposi who talks to us through his poetry about eating with the seasons. It reminds me of growing up in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where we have six seasons.

It starts with গ্রীষ্ম, from April to June, sweltering hot summer, with mangoes and melas I remember going to as a kid and buying many clay fruits to play with. The food of the first day is panta bhaat (fermented rice) with our national fish ilish and the many bhortas - mashed vegetables. Throughout the summer storms, my family continue to eat the fruits of the summer - mangoes and lychees, which I remember my father bringing over on his way back from work and laying on the dining table.

বর্ষা, monsoon, with the torrential downpours from June to August, kids running through muddy streets, splashing waters at passersby with their worn out sneakers is the time to relax with a hot cup of cha. শরৎ, the first of the autumns, the one with the কাশফুল—large catkins growing across fields, swaying under the clear skies. Late Autumn, হেমন্ত from October to December, the season of নতুন ফসল—as farmers celebrate the new crops. These are the times that wedding season often starts, which can mean one thing - kachchi biryani which involves succulent goat meat cooked in rice, mustard oil, garlic, black pepper, saffron, clove, cardamom, salt, lemon, and yogurt, with restaurants choosing to sometimes add their own flair with use of cream, raisins, peanuts, and/or cashews. It is classic Bengali wedding food, but to me the best memories come from my mother taking me to Star Kebab, a local chain that specializes in the kachchi biryani, which they serve with giant pieces of potatoes and a hard boiled egg. 

শীত, as cold as it can get in Bangladesh. Not in Dhaka as much, but the northern parts of the country do hit single digits in Celsius. It brings us beloved vegetables such as cauliflowers, as well as pithas, rice cakes often soaked in syrup and fried. বসন্ত, beautiful spring from February to April. Everyone celebrating the start of spring wearing yellow the day on পহেলা ফাল্গুন , which also happens to be the day before Valentine’s day. The songs of the spring talk about change in the weather, and the blooming of flowers. The days get longer, the nights get shorter. Mustard blooms in the fields and covers them in yellow. Mustard can of course be added individually to dishes but it’s also a key component of paanch phoron, which is a a mix of mustard, fennel, fenugreek, cumin and nigella seeds, which adds an oomph to any vegetable dish.

I’m getting hungry thinking about this… so I am going to go find some food. I hope you enjoy Lou’s poem, and let me know what seasonal comforts you enjoy - from childhood or now!

Best,

Padya

Lou Tamposi

Lou Tamposi writes deeply about food and lightly about life. Beyond writing about food, he also touches on fatherhood, enlightenment, seasonality, and leading a life well-lived. Lou lives in Massachusetts with his lovely wife, two semi-feral children, and an ever-hungry dog. You can read more of his work in his newsletter, Cow We Doin’, which is published weekly on Friday mornings, or follow him on Twitter, where he posts poorly taken photos of his meals.

Let me tell you something: 
you can eat whatever you want and 
      you can eat with the seasons. 

When the leaves start to turn 
and autumn comes 
with wind and gold – 
you can roast root vegetables 
and braise meat to keep you warm. 

And when the ground hardens 
and the wind bites 
and the trees turn bare – 

You can still eat whatever you want 
      (but it might come from the pantry). 

Soon the red maples will bloom 
and the wood frogs will thaw 
and you can eat ramps. 

You can eat outside 
and you can listen to the birds. 

Soon the tomatoes will ripen 
and you can pluck them off the vine 
and eat them like apples. 

No one will stop you. 

Soon you can eat a cucumber 
sprinkled with salt and crips 
just to feel it snap. 

You can eat whatever you want.