Seasonal Milestones

Regarding the point made in my last post -- it's a large question that will take some time to answer. In the meantime, this blog is something I'm eager to do right away. Its intent is to address a frequent topic of discussion between my Midwest-raised husband and Northwest-raised me: the seasonal milestones and celebrations I was exposed to as a child, both in the garden and in the kitchen. Let me tell you, there were many!

Backing up for a moment, I should explain that my parents are Extremely enthusiastic about marking events through each year with celebration. By this I don't mean they hang excessive holiday decorations, or that my mom wears spooky skeleton sweatshirts and pumpkin earrings for Halloween. I'm talking more about gardening and cooking-related events that celebrate the very holy Bounty of the Northwest.

When I was a child, I loved this. And as a young adult living on the East Coast and the Midwest, I would nostalgically and reverently expound on the events to my new husband, using the big eyes and widespread fingers and mythical tone usually reserved for fairy tales.

Here is a typical conversation early in our relationship, when we lived in Washington, DC in the mid-90s:

Molly: "Turn down the Snoop Dogg, I have something important to tell you! It's early June, nearly time for local strawberries! And you know what that means: The annual Strawberry Shortcake Dinner!"

Dara: "What in the hizzo?"

Molly: "You know, the dinner where all we eat is homemade strawberry shortcake and nothing else, because local strawberries are so red and juicy and flavorful and succulent! Oh God, oh God, I can't wait!"

Dara: "Wow, you sound all lusty about strawberries -- like our friend Monica talking about the president!"

(Ha, I made up that last part. We actually didn't know Monica Lewinsky, though she and we were at the same New Year's Eve party in 1997 or so, due to the fact she was my co-worker's roommate's friend. DC is small like that.)

These exchanges often ended in sadness. Strawberries sampled, I would conclude it's "just not the same" on the East Coast...or in the Midwest, where we moved in 1999.

Now we live in Seattle -- as of three weeks ago! This is the moment for which I've been waiting. May 2010 is the time to begin re-experiencing and expanding on my family's traditions, and to discover whether a veil of nostalgia has colored my memories, or whether this Bounty of the Northwest lives up to the legend. Here we go.