Seasonal Eating in Winter
By Molly Watson, About.com Guide to Local Foods
Eating locally through the winter is a challenge, no doubt. Tips, recipes, and seasonal charts here will help you on your way. For many people the very definition of "local" needs to be a bit more generous in the winter. It might need to encompass an entire region or even the whole country. There are plenty of cool season crops - like broccoli, cabbages, and cooking greens - and root vegetables to see us through the colder days of winter. And don't forget: citrus fruits are at their best in winter. Oranges and tangerines, Meyer lemons and ruby grapefruit all come into season to brighten dark winter nights.
What's In Season In Winter?
If nothing else, citrus fruit from sunny climes like California, Florida, and Arizona are at their peak in winter months. Root vegetables and other storage fruits and vegetables provide locally grown items to many areas, and temperature growing zones keep cooking greens, cabbages, and broccoli flowing to the entire country.
Winter Cooking Tips
Keeping your cooking seasonal - even a little bit - in winter can be a challenge. When it seems that there's no end in sight of cool weather crops and root vegetables, try these tips to jazz things up a bit.
Warming Winter Soups
Delicious and nutritious homemade soup can warm a weary person to their soul (and soles!). Try on one of these winter-vegetable-heavy soups for a simple winter lunch or dinner.
- Beet & Cabbage Borscht
- Butternut Squash Soup & Variations
- Cauliflower Soup
- Egg Lemon Soup
- Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Refreshing Winter Salads
The best winter salads provide a bracing - almost tonic-like quality - to heavier winter meals. Thinly sliced fennel, sections of citrus fruits, and bitter greens and chicories all fit the bill.
Quick Winter Dinners
Night comes early in winter, and so do appetites. The need to get dinner on the table quickly seems in intensify during the winter when the sun sets so early and cold days increase our hunger. These quick, but nutritious and seasonal, winter dinners are my go-to items on nights like that.
Tasty Winter Snacks
Make delicious treats from seasonal winter produce with these easy recipes.
Hearty Winter Dinners
These dishes will warm your kitchen while they cook as well as warm your whole self when you eat them.
Tempting Winter Desserts
Cosy cakes and hearty pies are extra tempting in winter, but so are fresh winter fruit desserts. Try one of these recipes for a lighter, fresher end to your cold weather meal.
