🧪🧪🧪🧪Test Blog using code: Finding Nourishment in the Season God Has Given Us

There is something about winter that naturally invites us to slow down.

The days grow shorter. The air gets colder. Our kitchens begin to smell a little different. Instead of reaching for the light meals of summer, we find ourselves pulling out soup pots, roasting vegetables, baking bread, and gathering around the table for foods that feel warm and comforting.

And maybe there is something worth noticing in that.

God created a world with seasons.

We usually think about that verse in relation to the seasons of our lives—and rightly so. But there are also literal seasons happening right outside our windows.

Winter. Spring. Summer. Fall.

Creation changes its rhythm, and our tables can change with it.

Welcome to Eating Well Through the Seasons, a four-part journey where we're going to have a little fun in the kitchen, explore foods associated with each season, and pay attention to some of the simple gifts God has placed in creation.

And we're beginning in winter.

What Does Eating Seasonally Mean?

Eating seasonally simply means choosing more fruits and vegetables that are naturally harvested during the season you're currently in.

Today, grocery stores make it possible to purchase many foods throughout the entire year. That's certainly convenient. But before modern transportation, refrigeration, and large grocery stores, people's meals were much more closely connected to what was growing and available around them.

Winter meant different foods than summer.

Spring brought something new.

And harvest time brought its own abundance.

Eating seasonally doesn't mean you have to completely change the way you shop or refuse to buy a strawberry in January.

This isn't about making another rule for ourselves.

Instead, think of it as an invitation to notice.

What's growing?

What's abundant?

What's available locally?

What's especially delicious right now?

And perhaps even:

What can this season teach me about the God who created it?

Winter Has Its Own Table

At first glance, winter might seem like the least exciting season for fresh food.

But take another look.

Winter brings us foods such as apples, citrus fruits, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, beets, parsnips, hearty greens, and beautiful varieties of winter squash.

The original list for this winter collection includes everything from acorn and butternut squash to grapefruit, kale, leeks, pears, pumpkins, rutabagas, turnips, and yams. Pasted text

That doesn't sound like an empty season to me.

It sounds like the beginning of a very good pot of soup.

There Is Beauty in Eating With the Season

One of the pleasures of seasonal eating is simply enjoying food when it naturally fits the time of year.

A cold winter evening almost begs for a bowl of soup.

Root vegetables become wonderful roasted side dishes.

Winter squash can become soups, casseroles, or a simple roasted vegetable.

And citrus can bring a little brightness into the darker days of the year.

Seasonal foods can also encourage us to step outside our normal routines.

Most of us have those foods we buy every single week without thinking about them.

Seasonal eating gives us a reason to stop and say:

I've never cooked that before. What could I make with it?

That little question can turn an ordinary grocery trip into something creative.

Take a Look Close to Home

Winter can also be a wonderful time to learn where our food comes from.

Depending on where you live, you may have access to local farms, winter farmers markets, community-supported agriculture programs (CSAs), or growers who continue offering stored crops and other products throughout the colder months.

The original winter guide suggests exploring CSAs, farmers markets, home gardening, and seasonal choices at your regular grocery store. Pasted text

You don't have to do all of those things.

Start small.

The next time you're shopping, choose one winter food you've never prepared before.

Maybe it's a parsnip.

Maybe it's rutabaga.

Maybe it's delicata squash.

Take it home, find a simple recipe, and experiment.

You may discover something your family loves.

 

There's Something Sacred About an Ordinary Table

I don't want us to make food more spiritual than Scripture does.But I also don't want us to miss how frequently Scripture shows people eating, gathering, planting, harvesting, preparing food, and sharing meals.

Jesus Himself gave thanks for food. Before feeding the five thousand, John tells us: Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. John 6:11 (ESV) There is such simplicity in those words: He gave thanks.

That's something we can carry into our own kitchens.

We don't need an elaborate meal.

We don't need a picture-perfect table.

We don't need every ingredient to come from a local farm.

We can simply recognize that what we have is provision and receive it with gratitude.

A steaming bowl of soup on a freezing evening can become an ordinary reminder:

God has provided for today.

A Little Winter Challenge

Let's make this practical.

Sometime this week, choose one seasonal winter ingredient you don't normally use.

Try a new squash.

Roast some root vegetables.

Make homemade soup.

Visit a local farmer or winter market if you have one nearby.

Or pull out a recipe that reminds you of someone you love.

Then, before you eat, stop for just a moment.

Look at what's on the table.

Thank God for His provision.

Thank Him for the hands that grew it, transported it, prepared it, or shared it.

And enjoy your meal.

Sometimes gratitude grows in very ordinary places.

Including the kitchen.

EATING WELL THROUGH THE SEASONS

From My Winter Kitchen

Over the next few winter posts, we’re going to explore some of the foods that make this season especially delicious.

We’ll talk about favorite winter comfort foods, root vegetables, winter squash, eating locally during the colder months, winter gardening—and, of course, recipes.

So we're going to have plenty to play with.

But we're not stopping when the snow melts.

When spring arrives, we'll open the kitchen windows and continue with Eating Well Through the Seasons: Spring — A Season for Fresh Beginnings.

Then we'll move into the abundance of summer and eventually gather around the flavors of fall.

Four seasons.

Four different tables.

And one faithful God providing through them all.