I have to admit that I'm torn. I love the fact that we can eat wonderful things all year round. We no longer fear winter hunger and have to pray that early greens come in quickly to stave off starvation. I'm glad that we don't have to eat the same thing for months at a time and that February and early March are marked by eating increasingly withered fruits and root vegetables.

But I miss the fact that specific times of year are no longer marked by foods only available at that time. It used to be that I knew summer was hear when I could eat strawberries and watermelon and corn on the cob. Or that fall was here when apples were out. Now, I can get any vegetable I want whenever I want it. Of course, they taste better and are usually much cheaper when they are in season, but they are available year-round.

There's something about living and eating to follow the earth's rhythms. (Well, within reason. The winter starving time holds no appeal.)

One way to eat more seasonally is to do much of your produce shopping at farmers' markets and farm stands. They will sell what they picked that morning, so it's far more likely to be seasonal. (In the winter, the ones that stay open will usually sell from their greenhouses.) A grocery store, on the other hand, focuses on keeping everything in stock as regularly as possible, regardless of season. Staples like grains and oils and spices can store year-round, so they don't have a season.

I don't know that eating seasonally is any healthier or that it will make a significant change for the environment, but it will make certain fruits and vegetables special seasonal treats, making them even more fun to eat. It will allow you to savor nature's best at its best.