To Every Season There is a Reason

George Musser an editor at Scientific American magazine wrote, " there are two kinds of people: Those who enjoy the ebb and flow of the seasons, the dapples of autumnal color, the hoary headed frosts of winter, the flowers anew of spring, the live murmur of a summer's day. And those who don't find anything romantic in blinding snowstorms, ice-covered roads, or gangrenous frostbite; who would just as soon go south in the winter, and stay there". I definitely belong to the first group so much so that I am living my dream even in my waking hours, of thinking and planning to build a mud brick house for retirement in Tasmania,where the four seasons are most distinct in Australia. But the four seasons of the temperate climates don't mean much to people who live in the tropics, where two seasons are more common: the rainy season and the dry season. In Singapore,the year long summer is only divided into two seasons: the rainy season and the dry season. The rainy season runs from November to February in which the North East Monsoon brings forth the annual floods to the Eastern states of the Peninsular of Malaya. Like most Singaporean, I didn't know how much the annual seasonal cycle is imprinted on everything I do until I left to live in a temperate place. The seasons tell me the time to plant my chili in my backyard and the time to reap, the time to bring out my winter clothes and the time to have a BBQ in the veranda.
I also learned to eat seasonally. Buying mangoes in middle of winter or asparagus in the heat of summer is not a good idea on so many different reasons. Not only has this food been flown half way round the country but such produce was probably harvested early to withstand the rigours of transportation. You"ll pay top dollar for an out-of season item that is less fresh and nutritive. Therefore I only buy when the fruits or food items are in season and thus cheap. Just like the box of navel oranges for $10.00 and bag of onions for $6.50. we paid at last weekend-market. We are known to glut on mangoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner when they are in abundance during the summer months. When the season is over, you will probably be sick of them anyway. Then it'll be time to move on to the next seasonal food that's at its peak nutritionally and at its cheapest in the market again.
To be continued...