I’m so tired of winter.
I know I haven’t had it as bad as some of my friends who live in the Northeast, or the Midwest. And I know in December and January it was a lot drier in Boise than in Seattle, but I am so ready for spring to come – more so than in years past, I think.
I’m tired of waking up to sub-freezing temperatures, bundling up to walk the dogs, and walking instead of running because of icy sidewalks. Everyone we’ve met here in Boise keeps telling us it has been a much greyer, wetter winter than normal for the Treasure Valley.
My garden class has been in session for two weeks, but we still haven’t made it into the garden. Too much mud. The same mud has closed my favorite trails to take Mishka hiking off-leash, and prevents us from practicing agility in the back yard. The ground here just can’t soak up the excess precipitation, so we’re left with mud.
And then, for the last two days, it has snowed. Not the pretty, heavy snow that gives me a good reason to drink coffee inside, or sends me out to throw snowballs for the dogs, but wet snow, that teeters back and forth on the edge of being rain, and leaves me with even more mud on the ground.
I’m sorry to say, I’m even tired of the foods of winter. Soup, stews, chilies – I’ve had enough. I can’t wait for the farmer’s market to open here – five more long weeks.
I know change is coming. Daylight savings time starts on Sunday. It will be light here till nearly 8pm.
And two bright spots lit up my culinary life last week. The Boise Co-Op had local sorrel, and local Meyer lemons in stock. I’ve written about sorrel before. It’s fast becoming a favorite of mine – and even though I know this bunch grew in a greenhouse, I choose to see it as a harbinger of spring. And finding local citrus – courtesy of a greenhouse that uses geothermal energy no less, seems like a dream come true. Hopefully the dish they inspired me to create – Lemon Pasta with Kale and Sorrel, is one that will see us through the last weeks of winter and into spring.
Eat Drink Man Woman Dogs Cat 