Spring – A season of promise. We all love to cook in spring because there is just so much to choose from. Flavors are pure but delicate so cooking must be gentle, which requires restraint with menu design. It is tempting to try and combine everything at once, but spring must be allowed to unfold, with a minimum of ingredients speaking on the plate. Too many notes and the melody becomes muddled and contrived. The coming heat will allow for more layers in the food as flavors and colors become richer.
Summer – A season of joy. Summer means heat and motion, it seems everyone is on the move and when it isn’t too hot to cook, we simply don’t have the time. In early summer, all is in bloom and ready to eat with only a minimum of cooking necessary to amplify the flavors of the seasons. Salads become more than a peripheral note on the menu and lighter soups and sauces predominate. By July and August, much of the local farms’ offerings are gone as many plants go dormant due to the heat, but figs, tomatoes, peppers and summer squash still can be found in the shade. Fast cooking on the grill combines with cool, fresh vegetables and fruit to complete the taste of summer.
Fall – A season of ritual. In Texas, this is the time when we impatiently wait for the first cool breeze to sweep in from the north, formally announcing Football, Halloween, Thanksgiving and the Holidays. Fall always runs late it seems, but stays late too; a fair trade. For the local farms, it is a glorious time for greens emerging from the dormancy imposed by the heat of summer. We enjoy the last crop of tomatoes and eggplant and welcome the first crop of hardy squash, cauliflower and apples. From beyond Austin, pears and wild mushrooms and dried fruits all come into play on our menus as we use slower cooking methods, deeper spices and evergreens such bay leaf, lavender, thyme, sage and rosemary.
Winter – A season of comfort. Baby, its cold outside! Well, for a month or two anyway, but that’s why we live in Austin! So while everyone can wear jackets and sweaters, Zoot takes full advantage of cooking techniques and ingredients that we truly love, such as braising…anything…as long as possible. Is there anything better than food slowly simmered for hours and served with plenty of home baked bread and a good bottle of wine? We didn’t think so either. Cooks love winter because each dish is built slowly, with plenty of technique required for each step. Patience and organization, the secrets to great cooking, are reinforced and balance the immediate gratification of the fast and light style used during the hot months.
