february at the market
foods in season, eating notes + a playlist for cooking
Welcome to mama eats, a weekly newsletter inspired by a simple + seasonal home life. This week’s post, February at the market, is free to all readers. I try to provide as much free content as possible, however, this newsletter is a labor of love and I am a busy mother of three. If you have the means and find value in what I share, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Here we are in February, the shortest month that feels the longest as we pine for spring and the return of warmth and light. “February, month of despair, with a skewered heart in the centre” says Margaret Atwood, in her poem named for the month. Although there’s this feeling of the winter days being interminable, there’s also a noticeable shift in the quality of sunlight, the strength of it, when it does grace us with its presence. The shadows cast onto the kitchen wall from the afternoon light shining through our paper snowflakes come a touch later, and then a touch later, in slight shifts of time that signify the return of longer afternoons and evenings. The weather here tends to be fickle- a few warm days deceive us into feeling that spring is just around the corner, then the next week suddenly turns rainy, stormy, cold. “Abbreviated month. Every kind of weather” reflects Linda Pastan about February in her poem, The Months.
Here in northern California the month is also marked by the first blossoms peeping through the wind and rain, almond blossoms in particular- the orchard fields of them dressed in frothy, ethereal white and palest pink- inverted ballerinas lined up in rows. I always cut some branches to bring inside, a small pleasure of the season to watch them unfurl at close range, to watch something emerge out of dormancy into life again.
In seasonal produce this month, citrus continues to be a bright spot - blood oranges, pomelos and grapefruits bring glorious hues of reds and pinks in time for Valentine’s and the month of celebrating love. Eat them out of hand, eat them on your yogurt and granola, eat them in salads, juice them. Be greedy and eat your fill, their season will draw to a close soon. There are the vibrant orange-red of minneola tangelos, their tart-sweet, fragrantly floral segments a perfect juicy snack. It’s also the perfect time to make marmalade, if you haven’t already. For eating with toast, for making marmalade cake, for gifting to a neighbor or a friend to share something handmade with love. Grapefruit is also a favorite for me, whether classically halved and sprinkled with a little coarse sugar and eaten with a spoon, or in grapefruit cake, or in grapefruit salads with avocado and fennel or edamame. Don’t forget a nice paloma or salty dog to drink.
The most exciting food event for me this month is that forced rhubarb begins to