Winter

From The Improvisational Cook by Sally Schneider published October 2006..

I like to use organic vegetables. Keeps 5 days in the refrigerator.

I have been making variations of this quintessentially Israeli salad for almost 30 years. Not only does it taste and look good, but it is so easy to prepare that I make it for last-minute dinner guests when I have no lettuce in the house. (Somehow my fridge is always stocked with raw carrots.)

Ingredients

All over southern Italy country people eat bowls of nutty-tasting whole-wheat kernels with creamy ricotta, sweet honey and dried fruit to celebrate the feast of Santa Lucia on December 13 and the planting of the new wheat.

Adapted from How to Cook Meat by John Willoughby and Chris Schlesinger.

Besides using this sauce in casseroles and pot pies, spoon it over sliced turkey for a hot turkey sandwich.

Crumbly but wonderfully moist, this cake has enough surprises of fruity chocolate, nuts and spice to set it far apart from ordinary Christmas fruit cakes. Taste it at its mellow best by baking the Pampepato a week or more before serving. One loaf could become a holiday house gift, while the other is kept for celebrating Christmas with the family.

There are few vegetables that are not improved by grilling. Flavors intensify with browning. Many vegetables become so robust that they can easily stand in for meats as second courses. If you are looking for a meatless second dish that is light yet satisfying, a variety of grilled vegetables could be the answer. I like the touch of bitterness in grilled radicchio and Belgian endive. Other Emilia-Romagna favorites are eggplant, zucchini, peppers, onions, curly endive, and escarole. This recipe for oven and stove-top grilling stands in nicely when grilling out-of-doors is impossible.