We should always try to cook and eat with the seasons. In the winter, we should eat heartier vegetables and meats to prepare for the cold months ahead.
Here are 10 seasonal items I like to look for in the markets and the grocery stores this time of year:
1. Root Vegetables: parsnips, carrots and turnips are perfect for winter.
2. Beets: red or yellow, beets are easy to cook; put them in water and cover and bake for 40 minutes at 325, then peel off the skin.
3. Cranberries: yum!
4. Chestnuts: delicious in salads, and a favorite holiday treat.
5. Parsnips: peel and roast with salt, pepper, oil and garlic at 350.
6. Sweet potatoes: scrumptious with chimichurri sauce.
7. Heartier meats like roasts: braise roasts with vegetables, wine, stock, and crushed tomato.
8. Lamb: rack of lamb is my favorite served with mint jelly (I am from Oklahoma and this is a true southern tradition) at a perfect medium rare.
9. Pheasant: you probably won’t cook this, and neither will I.
10. Duck: difficult to cook, but very rewarding.
Cheers and Happy Cooking!
Mary
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