January

I enjoy cooking and writing in January. It comes as a welcome relief after the pulled-back deadlines and frenetic pace of December, but January has its own problems. There are few fresh ingredients specific to the month. The wild game season is still going, just, but care is needed with what birds there are as they mature. Apart from apples and pears available from store, the only fruit are the citruses and the exotics. With vegetables, there are roots and brassicas aplenty, and Italy seems to produce a new member of the chicory family almost every year. There is plenty of fish, if the weather allows, and we live in an age where there is no shortage of meat at any time of the year.