Cold Weather Comfort Recipes

The twisted carrot in the middle reminded me of Lizzie's toes.

We tend to eat differently in the winter although a lot of people try to fight the comfort food urge.  I like something a little richer or heavier, maybe more satisfying although I am not trying to beef up with body fat for winter.  I made a big pot of watercress soup yesterday and have been keeping warm throughout the day with that.  But, today I did go for a slightly heartier meal because the farmer's market had so many good wintry choices.  I do think in a macrobiotic or an Ayurvedic diet; people would eat according to weather and time of year.  And in most older civilizations, there was not a fresh light green vegetable option in the winter, nor was there the constant availability of every type of food all the time.  And, the heavier foods were not available in endless amounts so smaller portions of them were common.   And the flip flop of seasonal eating, i.e., eating lighter foods in the summer, is a natural tendency that is disappearing with the endless marketing of heavier foods on the grill and simple meals like ordering pizza.  So, seasonal eating served a purpose.  But, whether it still does is clearly debatable both because calories are not scarce at any time of year and we are facing an overabundance of food constantly.  So, deciding winter is a time to add calories might be a mistake. The good news is root vegetables tend to be fewer calories than potatoes, nutrient rich, and yet still provide comfort and a full, warm feeling helping people recharge and face the cold.

I bought a bunch of things, including my regular sprouts and cucumbers, but thought it was a good night to roast some carrots and parsnips in a touch of olive oil and sea salt. We also had four different sweet potatoes.  Of course, Perry and Lizzie would eat only the Korean (dry, white, fleshy) one, Luke would eat the big orange yam, and Susannah ate the small orange one, leaving the yellow sweet potato  for the Dad. It was meant to be more of a tasting but they are all firm in their preferences.

I also made this really quick apple "thing" from fresh winesaps, cinnamon topped with almonds that I mixed with maple syrup.  I baked it while the sweet potatoes and root vegetables were cooking and, of course, I burned the top and had to scrape some of the almonds off and carefully brown them again.  Take two was a success but may have led to overcooked apples, oh well.

Parsnips & Carrots:
Cut in chunks.  Drizzle with olive oil and chunky sea salt, add a touch of black pepper.  Bake on 375 for 16 minutes.  Then, turn oven down to 250 for 15 more minutes.

Baked Sweet Potatoes:
Bake directly on the oven rack at 375 to 400 for one hour, turn oven down to 250 and let bake until very soft and oozing.  The Korean or Japanese yellow fleshed ones will remain firm.

Apple Almond Crisp:
Slice fresh crisp apples.  Spread them out and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Toss sliced almonds in a bowl with a tablespoon of maple syrup, gently coating them.  Spread almonds over apples.  Bake on 300 for 15 minutes, turn up to 375 to brown the nuts carefully.

Basic Watercress Soup:
3 bunches of watercress
1 large leek
3 cups of water
1 fresh hot pepper (Serrano or red chile)

Just heat it all together and blend.  I added a Sontava habanero sauce to my serving but know your crowd before you add that to the pot.