Holiday Recipes – Local & Seasonal

For those of us that live in Southwest British Columbia , we are lucky to have a growing season that can be still be plentiful during the cooler months. This time of year offers a number of vegetables and herbs, as well as fruits and nuts, that are perfect for creating delicious holiday meals. We at Growing Chefs! love to support our local growers and hope you will too this holiday season and beyond. You can find a list of local farmers markets with their dates and times on the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets website.

The following vegetables, herbs, fruits, and nuts are some of the produce that is often available fresh in December and can be typically found in local farmers markets, produce markets, and grocery stores.

Seasonal Vegetables – Beets, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Garlic, Kale, Leeks, Onions, Parsnips, Potatoes, Rutabaga, Winter Squash, Winter Greens, Turnips.

Seasonal Herbs – Bay Leaves, Cilantro, Chervil, Rosemary, Sage, Winter Savory, Thyme.

Seasonal Fruit* – Apples, Pears

Seasonal Nuts* – Hazelnuts, Chestnuts, Walnuts

Here are a few mouthwatering recipes we found that highlight the wonderful winter produce British Columbia has to offer. Enjoy!

Starter:

Who says you don’t make friends with salad (other than Homer Simpson)? This beautiful Holiday Salad by Oh She Glows features apples, pears, walnuts & cranberries. We suggest using kale and other seasonal greens for your lettuce ingredient. This is a fresh and light starter before getting into the heavy hitters of the main course.

Main Course:

One of our supporters, Urban Digs Farm, has shared their recipe for our holiday favourite, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Or if you want to mix up your potato style, present your guests with an impressive looking dish like Ryan’s Shallot & Sage Accordion Potatoes .

   

Urban Digs is a strong supporter of Growing Chefs! and their involvement includes classroom volunteering where they share valuable gardening and cooking knowledge, as well as donating produce to our annual From Farms To Forks fundraiser. Among sharing great recipes online, they also have posted helpful tips on how to source an ethical, sustainable turkey.

Epicurious has a guide to the many  varieties of winter squash. So many squashes, so many tasty recipes to choose from. We chose to highlight their Delicata Squash with Rosemarry, Sage & Cider Glaze that is perfect fit for this time of year.

If you’re not a fan of Brussels sprouts we think this Brussels Sprouts with Hazelnut Butter recipe from Cook & Be Merry could change your mind. Don’t they look and sound wonderful?

Saveur posted their Maple-Glazed Carrots with Thyme that are a sweet alternative to steamed carrots. Another tip: make this recipe with a mix of carrots and parsnips.

Dessert:

If you’ve saved room for dessert may we suggest Martha Stewart’s Apple Pear Pie with Walnut Crust? Or perhaps Organic Pumpkin Pie like this recipe found on Care2.com? YUM!

Tell us some of your favourite holiday recipes. How do you showcase fresh, local ingredients in your meals?

Happy cooking, to one and all!

*BC apples, pears & nuts are harvested during the early fall months and kept in storage to be sold in later months and are in large supply in December.