Winter

Spicy Sweet Ginger-Garlic
Chicken WingsWe have a yearly tradition. For Super Bowl Sunday, we invite friends over to our house to eat, have some drinks and watch the game. Until our younger son, Michael, came into our lives, neither of us were much interested in sports.

Attending UCLA during the John Wooden days, when the men's basketball team reigned supreme, I never went to a single game. I didn't care. But Michael did. From the time he was a toddler, he watched Sports Center, baseball, basketball and football.

Like any parent we wanted to find common ground with our son. For us, that meant catching up with a three year old's encyclopedic knowledge of major league sports.

At first a chore, we got into it. We learned to cheer on the Lakers, root for the Dodgers and follow the careers of our favorite quarterbacks (Manning, Brady, Luck, RGIII, Rogers and Kaepernick).

As soon as the new year arrives, January becomes the month all about weight loss, getting fit, eating healthy, etc. We all put on the extra pounds during the holiday months by eating our favorite hearty comfort foods and then try to shed them as fast as we can. Just like everyone else, I too make a new year's resolution I don't quite keep. But this year I hope to follow through with my plan to eat more and more vegetables and a lot less meat. My way of eating during the winter months has always included lots of soups and stews that feature meat. But I'm finding that once I change the foods I eat and the techniques I use to cook them, that I can follow through with my plan. To achieve this, I try to think of the foods of summer, such as salads, grilled chicken and fish, and other recipes that remind me of healthier eating.

This brightly colored black bean salad not only reminds me of summer, but it also has the frugal sensibility of winter. The dried beans, once cooked, are combined with fresh vegetables that are available year round. For this recipe, I prefer using dried beans instead of canned, because they're more economical and I can control the flavoring of the cooking liquid as well as the texture of the beans. Most canned beans tend to be overcooked. This high-fiber salad is great for a quick lunch on its own or alongside a protein for dinner. It also works exceptionally well as a salsa for an appetizer when paired with baked tortilla chips. It's versatile, healthy, and flavorful. It makes for a great healthy start to the new year.

Are you still making hot chocolate from the store bought mix? This winter season, try something different. Make it from scratch, with real chocolate. It's a totally different taste experience. And there's a good chance you won't go back to a mix. And honestly, this doesn't take much longer (unless you are using instant).

I remember the first time I discovered hot cocoa did not have to come from a powdered mix, I was shocked. And this Peppermint Bark Hot Chocolate will make you a believer. I hope you will give it a chance.

The kid's eye's will pop when they see you add the Frozen Peppermint Whipped cream to the top of their mug. Cue happy music.

I broke up my peppermint bark chocolate bars into my saute pan. I love using a large saute pan to make hot chocolate. The large surface area makes it come together and heat up quickly. Easier to stir too.

Since I require bright color to keep me happy, I make up for the weather with vegetables. One of my favorite color combos is deep green and bright orange. This week at the grocery I spotted big bunches of leafy Tuscan kale right across the aisle from a bin of blood oranges, and thought bingo! What a great combo—a truly colorful wintry mix.

Unlike many leafy greens, Tuscan kale doesn’t bolt (go to flower), so you can keep harvesting from one plant for many weeks. It’s even better in the kitchen, because it has a much silkier texture and a less mineral-y flavor than regular curly kale. It’s lovely in soups, pastas, and gratins, but makes a versatile side dish, too.

If you want to cook (or grow) Tuscan kale, there’s just one problem. You will have to memorize a roster of names this green goes by so that you don’t miss it. When I first encountered this kale a few years back, I understood it to be Cavolo Nero, or black kale. Now it seems to be marketed most often as Lacinato; though you will also see it labeled Dinosaur kale to appeal to kids. I just stick with Tuscan kale. The good news is, despite the name confusion, it’s relatively easy to identify this kale by its looks. The leaves are long, straight, and quite narrow—and they have a distinctive webby, bumpy pattern on them.