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Raise your hand if you've heard this one: A chef is asked how he or she creates dishes and responds, "Oh, I go to the farmers' market in the morning and see what's good, and then build dishes around that." Doesn't that sound delightful? It certainly can be, but when you're putting together a menu, it's usually best to do a little planning beforehand.

We were so excited to see the latest issue of Dwell, because the kitchen on the cover looks very familiar! It's Art and Chelsea's loft in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood, which we featured here last summer.

Are you hosting a Superbowl party this Sunday? Whether you're planning to go all out and embrace the cheesiness or you're hoping to class up the joint, we've got a dip to fit you're menu. Because you know you need a dip, right? This is the Superbowl we're talking about.

It may be frigid outside and prime season for oatmeal, but we're in the middle of a smoothie kick. We don't have the best blender – just your average model – but a couple of tips from Alton Brown have saved us from struggling and shaking it every morning as we make our breakfast. They're so obvious, too!

Brie-style cheese might not come to mind when you think about macaroni and cheese. We often reach for the sharpest variety when making a batch, but a soft-ripened cheese like Crave Brothers Les Frères is a great, super-creamy alternative. Especially when it’s paired with earthy mushrooms and a little white wine.

This time of year, our lunches can start to feel a lot like the weather outside – gloomy. Especially when we're eating them under fluorescent lights. Lately, we've been tossing a lemon into our lunch bag, and it's helped to brighten up our meals.

As truffles found and cultivated in the United States gradually earn the respect of the culinary world, foragers here are taking a hint from their European counterparts and beginning to enlist the help of dogs. But you don't have to be a professional with a crew of bloodhounds – you can train just about any dog to help you with a truffle hunt.

We love a book with a good story and a worthy social cause behind it, but even more than that, we love a great collection of recipes. Soup recipes, in particular, these days. We found all of these things in the Soup & Bread Cookbook.

There's nothing like homemade stock, but we hate waiting for a whole container of it to defrost. Especially when we've been out in the cold and are trying to defrost ourselves – we need soup, and fast! Freezing stock in ice cube trays allows for quick defrosting and won't slow down dinner.

For a meal that's both light and comforting, what's better than a lovely bowl of soup? Especially on a cold and gloomy day, a bowl of hot soup is perfectly filling, even with just a handful of ingredients. We've featured a great many soup recipes at The Kitchn over the years. Here are just a few of our favorites.

When you walk through a supermarket produce section or farmers' market, it may seem like there is a wide variety of fruit available, but there are actually thousands of varieties of tree fruit that aren't commercially grown. The Chicago Rarities Orchard Project is working to bring some of those varieties back to the spotlight. More on that below, plus a family recipe for quince paste!

Oatmeal is one of the healthiest breakfasts you can eat, and we usually like to keep our toppings pretty simple. But once in a while, why not make it just a little indulgent? Adding rich espresso and cocoa powder – and perhaps a few nuts and chocolate chips on top – combines our morning bowl of oatmeal with our favorite winter drink, the mocha.

Here's another inspiring egg preparation for you this morning – eggs baked in potato skins! That sounds like the perfect thing right about now, and it definitely falls into the category of "why didn't we think of that?"

If you're like us, you might spend some time watching Food Network on weekends. It can be relaxing, and of course a great source of recipe ideas. Here are a few episodes coming up this weekend that feature light and healthy recipes – most already available online.