This, That, and the Other

Frank, aka PCGuy, has published another one of his Truthful Tuesday posts. This week Frank wants to know whether the weather affects what we like to eat. He asks…

Whether it’s soups, stews, or chili, are there certain foods that you consider “winter fare,” only suitable when the temperature dips low enough to turn the furnace on, or do you just eat whatever whenever?

Before I moved to the East Bay last year around this time, I used to live in San Francisco. One of the characteristics of San Francisco’s weather is that there’s not much of a difference between summer and winter. Yes, occasionally that city will have a hot day in the summer or a chilly day in the winter, but for the most part, summer highs rarely exceed 70 and winter lows rarely dip below 40.

So the short answer to Frank’s question is no, I don’t consider certains foods to be “winter fare” or “summer fare.” I’ll eat whatever whenever.

That said, where I live now — 35 miles to the east of San Francisco across the San Francisco Bay — has definitive seasons. It hits the upper 90s to the low 100s on most days during the summer months and can get down to the low 30s in the winter.

And yet, I will still enjoy a piping hot bowl of chili even in the heat of the East Bay summers and still eat a half pint of Ben & Jerry’s Stephen Colbert’s Americone ice cream for dessert on most nights even in the dead of winter.