what's in season: december

a glorious Savoy cabbage

Snow is sometimes a she, a soft one

Her kiss on your cheek, her finger on your sleeve

In early December, on a warm evening

And you turn to meet her, saying "It''s snowing!"But it is not. 

And nobody''s there

Empty and calm is the air.
Ted Hughes 

Icy winds and Arctic weather has just hit the UK, apparently the worst in thirty years or so. Snow has just hit London too and I am feeling the need for winter-warming, hearty food. December is a fabulous month for leafy greens vegetables with winter roots in full swing too. 

So think of tasty stews and casseroles, delicious roasts and divine vegetables, from parsnips and swede to Brussels sprouts and celeriac, not forgetting my favourite, "king of all cabbages" - the glorious Savoy.

vegetables, herbs and wild greens:

artichokes (Jerusalem), beetroot, broccoli (purple sprouting), Brussels sprouts, Brussels tops, cabbages (various green varieties, red and white), cardoons, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, chard, chicory, endive, greens (spring and winter), kale, leeks, onions, parsnips, potatoes, pumpkins (& squashes), swede, turnips

fruit and nuts:

apples, chestnuts, hazelnuts, pears, rhubarb (forced)

meat and game:

beef, chicken, duck (wild), goose (farmed and wild), grouse, hare, mallard, mutton, partridge, pheasant, pork, turkey, venison, wood pigeon

fish and shellfish:

cod, crab (brown and hen), hake, herring, mussels, oysters (native and rock), sea bass, shrimp, sprats, whiting