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Winter: Recipes in Season

Red winter berries

Image Creative Commons by m01229

When the cold winter wind blows through the trees and the ground freezes hard as a rock, nothing warms a body faster than hearty comfort food. Soups and stews are favorites during the snowy time of year, as are braised dishes and roasted meats and vegetables. And holiday feasting has its own place among mid-winter dining pleasures.

Don't make the mistake of thinking there is no good, fresh produce available during the winter months. Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and greens are at their peak of sweet flavor. Root vegetables and avocadoes come into their own as well. A wide variety of citrus fruit adds a bright note to an otherwise bleak landscape of fruits. And shellfish are abundant.

Here is a list of items that are abundant, fresh and seasonal for winter.

December Ingredients

December Vegetables

Beets | Cabbage | Cauliflower | Celery | Celery Root | Collard Greens | Chanterelle Mushrooms | Parsnips | Rutabagas | TurnipsWinter Squash | >

December Fruits

Apples | Coconuts | Dates | Grapefruit | Grapes | Persimmons | Pomegranates | Tangerines

December Fish and Seafood

Clams (U.S. West Coast) | Dungeness Crab | Oysters

January Ingredients

January Vegetables

Avocados | Beets | Broccoli | Brussels Sprouts | Cabbage | Cauliflower | Celery | Celery Root | Chanterelle Mushrooms | Greens | Parsnips | Rutabagas | Turnips

January Fruits

Apples | Dates | Grapefruit | Kiwi | Lemons | Limes | Oranges | Papayas | Pears | Pommelos | Tangerines

January Fish and Seafood

Clams (West Coast) | Oysters | Tuna, Bigeye

February Ingredients

February Vegetables

Avocados | Brussels Sprouts | Cabbage | Celery | Celery Root | Chanterelle Mushrooms | Greens | Parsnips | Rutabagas | Salsify | Turnips

February Fruits

Apples | Dates | Grapefruit | Kiwi | Lemons | Limes | Oranges | Papayas | Pommelos | Tangerines

February Fish and Seafood

Clams (West Coast) | Oysters | Tuna, Bigeye

International Recipes for Winter

Try these warming wintertime dishes.

Pasteles

Puerto Rican pasteles, wrapped and unwrapped

(Puerto Rican savory cakes in banana leaves)

Coquito

Fresh coconut

(Puerto Rican coconut-rum beverage)

Fesenjan

Fesenjan (Persian chicken in pomegranate-walnut sauce)

(Persian chicken in pomegranate-walnut sauce)

Locro

Locro potato-cheese soup

(Ecuadoran, Peruvian potato-cheese soup)

Puchero

Puchero in the style of the Canary Islands

(Spanish meat and chickpea stew)