By: Kristina Tortoriello

Admittedly, I’m tickled by in-season produce. It literally delights me to bring home goodies that are winter-grown. Does that make me a weirdo? Hey man, I just appreciate feeling connected to my food. Prepare for some propaganda on why shopping seasonally is the best!

For winter, a few flavorful favorites are as follows: clementines, winter squash, beets, kale and escarole, certain onions, horseradish. As you can tell, my palette generally runs from sweet to spicy, and everything gets satiated this time of year! So no matter the weather outside, I’m a happy girl in the kitchen.

Clementines and tangerines are sweet pick-me-ups for the long, grey days and all the spicy stuff gets thrown into a one-pot pleasurefest- e.g. soup and stew and what have you.

Beets contain a hearty supply of detoxifying and anti-inflammatory nutrients. They can also fight colds and fatigue with good old vitamin C! So whether your liver’s feeling sluggish, or you are, you could probably both benefit from these beet-iful beauties in your diet. Cold or hot, they’ll sweeten up dishes from salads (usually raw) to veggie hash to red-velvet cupcakes (I ain’t kiddin!)

Every smarty and foodie will point to leafy greens, as well they should. Kale and escarole pack a healthy vitamin and mineral punch, but they also go with everything.They’re great accompaniments for dishes, as well as bases, and require little pre- or post-cooking prep. Commonly sauteed, they’re equally great additions to soup and/or salad. Snatch these up in bulk for sure!

Winter onions are not only perfectly worldly, from your Egyptian to your Japanese, but really versatile in terms of use, and gardeners love them because they’re planted with relative ease. Personally, I think Egyptian onions taste great on homemade pizza. A true onion lover knows a good onion topping, as well as base (er, bottoming?).

Horseradish: let me count the ways… Promise I’m going to try for clarity of a point here, and not a sonnet. Obviously, it’s primarily a topping. I’ve been experimenting with horseradish lately, and besides a good bloody mary, so far I’ve found it’s a workable, delicious dressing ingredient, as relevantly exemplified here.

Finally, I’m learning to love brussel sprouts with age, so they’re a definite runner up.