As the cool days of autumn arrive, Northwest cooks return to their kitchens to celebrate the season with regional favorites such as oysters and shellfish, pumpkins and root vegetables, rich meat and game dishes, cranberries and new-crop nuts.

After one of the worst winters on record, followed by a dubious start to "spring," Northwesterners are keeping fingers crossed that summer delivers warmth and sunshine along with our region's (typical) bounty: fresh asparagus; heirloom tomatoes and peppers; plump cherries, berries and stone fruits; and succulent summer salmon.

As winter recedes, Northwest cooks welcome the serenity of spring and the fresh, delicate foods it brings. We celebrate the arrival of baby new potatoes and greens, seasonal celebrations with lamb as the centerpiece, the first catches of salmon and halibut and the appearance of the first rhubarb and strawberries.

Oh come all ye faithful foodies and wine lovers as we create a festive holiday feast befitting our region's wintertime bounty. We'll begin with a lush cheese-and-Dungeness-crab appetizer, segue to a sumptuous butternut squash bisque, move to red wine with fish for dinner and conclude with chocolate and Port.

The arrival of fall is a felicitous time when Northwest cooks head back to their kitchens to welcome the season's bounty of Dungeness crab and shellfish; game meats, pork and beef; hearty greens; walnuts and hazelnuts; apples and pears.

The winter months of December, January and February are among the happiest for cooks in the Pacific Northwest as we head homeward for the holidays and hunker down around the hearth with family and friends. What better way to usher in the holidays and the new year than with an intriguing and little-known wine varietal called siegerrebe (zee-ger-ray-be)?

Summertime in the Northwest and the livin' is easy. Nature beckons with sunny skies, and as our lives literally "lighten" up, so do our food and wine choices. Come summer, cassoulet and cabernet make way for Montrachet and viognier.

Cheers to the glorious gluttony of summer, when Northwest fields and markets are filled to bursting with sweet corn, fresh basil, heirloom tomatoes, succulent salmon and fresh berries.

'Tis the season for Northwest foodies and oenophiles to deck the halls with winter squash and pumpkins, regional shellfish (scallops, crab, oysters and mussels) and traditional fowl and game dishes.

For Northwest food and wine lovers, the most wonderful time of the year lives up to its billing with a plethora of dark leafy greens, potatoes and winter squash, regional shellfish (scallops, crab, oysters and mussels) and traditional fowl and game dishes.

Nothing signals the end of a long Northwest winter and the promise of spring as gloriously as the reappearance of the fresh foods of the season - baby peas, delicate spring greens and herbs, pink singing scallops, lamb, morel mushrooms, strawberries and rhubarb.

Each issue, Braiden Rex-Johnson matches four Pacific Northwest wines with fresh regional ingredients.

The blessed bounty of summertime in the Northwest offers creative cooks a choice among several species of wild salmon, a bevy of fresh berries and a cornucopia of vegetables (Walla Walla onions, sweet corn and heirloom tomatoes) at their peak of freshness and flavor. Shopping and cooking during summer become simple delights.

Summertime is the exuberant season for Northwest cooks. The region's gorgeous greens, herbs and vegetables and fresh cherries, berries and peaches are ripe for the picking. Sumptuous salmon makes its glorious summer run.

Spring. The very word evokes action, a coming to life after the dark days of winter. Cooks look forward to the reawakening of the earth and ocean by welcoming the foods of the season, such as baby peas, asparagus, rhubarb, strawberries, morels, salmon and lamb. Even spring holidays — Valentine's Day, the Vernal Equinox, Easter and Passover — promise new beginnings and provide potent reasons for feasting.

The arrival of spring reawakens our taste buds to the vibrant foods of the season - baby peas and leeks, fresh herbs (dill, mint, sorrel), lamb (a natural for spring feasting) and fresh hothouse and farm-raised rhubarb.

The turning of the leaves and the scent of sweet spices signal the changing of the seasons as Northwest cooks welcome autumn's cornucopia: pumpkins, squash and root vegetables; apples and pears; hazelnuts and wild mushrooms; native fin- and shellfish; and meaty treats.

The Northwest's wintertime bounty - oysters, mussels and spot prawns; apples and pears; wild mushrooms and winter squash; potatoes and dark leafy greens — makes it one of the most rewarding seasons for cooks. The holidays serve as a convenient excuse for festive feasting, which (naturally!) includes adventurous wine pairings.

Northwest cooks welcome autumn’s treasure trove of treats — the new crop of apples, pears and hazelnuts; the autumn harvest of pumpkins, squash and root vegetables; the foraged and hunted goodness of wild mushrooms and game; and a bounty of shellfish.

Come September, October and November, the glorious gluttony of summer gives way to the deliberately cooked fare of fall. Entertaining becomes more formal as it shifts from back yard to indoors, while the promise of holiday feasting lingers just around the corner.

It's time to hail the harvest as Northwest cooks welcome cooler temperatures, heartier appetites and autumn's amazing array of produce, native finned- and shellfish, artisanal cheeses and game and meat offerings.

Spring delivers a scintillating selection of foods to Northwest cooks. In the spirit of the new beginnings that this season inspires, the recipes for our seasonal feast feature a bevy of bold flavors and tantalizing techniques.

Summer arrives, bringing its mother lode of culinary treasures. Fresh berries, summer squash, sweet corn and heirloom tomatoes burst into local farmers markets, while several species of native salmon speak to the ocean's brimming bounty.

Each issue, Braiden Rex-Johnson matches four Pacific Northwest wines with fresh regional ingredients.