Editorial: Winter food takes edge off the chill

The season for hearty winter meals has arrived. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Just last week I penned an editorial about the Bay's alarming Indian summer.

The ink on that piece was barely dry as I scraped ice from my car's windscreen yesterday morning.

It's been quite a seachange.

Cornflakes and fruit have been usurped at the breakfast table by ladels of bubbling porridge and scrambled eggs. And the ultimate tell-tale sign that the mercury has dropped is the kids, who rise 10 minutes later due to unbearable temperatures outside the duvet.

As well as serious ice across the province yesterday, we also saw the first snow hit the region. It fell on the ranges of both Ruahine and Kaweka, and in Dannevirke and Norsewood overnight on Sunday.

To rub it in nationally, thunder and hail was forecast for western areas of the North Island and the Defence Force was called to rescue 36 people trapped by snow on a four-wheel-drive trip in Central Otago.

Our respect for the mercurial Mother Nature deepens on these occasions; you can't help but love how irreverent, subversive even, she can be.

However, as hinted at above, it's the season where comfort food comes to the fore, where we're inclined to deal with our emotional stresses nutritionally.

And what better province, or time, to do that, given Winter FAWC (Food and Wine Classic)! Culinary celebration is just 10 chilly sleeps away.

While we're a province of sun, it's my favourite foodie time of year. Reds dominate whites, stout emerges after a summer hiatus, and the slow-cooker takes the pace out of a brisk, bracing winter.