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Greens! Kale, broccoli rabe and escarole are all pretty hardy through the winter. Cauliflower makes a big appearance, too.

I also like to roast a big assortment of root vegetables and eat them through the week. A recent assembly of brussels sprouts, carrots, jerusalem artichokes and purple potatoes made a particularly nice looking (and delicious) bowl.

The one wonderful thing about living in the Southwest desert is the mild winter which allows year-round local growing... (though sometimes I'm not sure whether using foreign oil to transport exotic out-of-season foods is any worse than using foreign water to grow them here)

I got lovely heirloom tomatoes at the farmer's market today. :)

But I remember the hideous winters of the Northeast, too... and I wholeheartedly agree with root vegetables, greens, and the surprisingly delicious cabbage. My favorite trick to getting through the winter was buying in bulk when you had tomatoes, green beans, and zucchini coming out of your ears during the hot months; canning, cooking sauces, and blanching and freezing veggies (super easy: big pot, and freezer ziplocs) and planning ahead, stocking the fridge for winter. Works wonders. The tomato sauce alone is sooo worth it.

Southern winters are rather mild, but I still eat a lot of traditional winter foods. Cabbage is one of them- stuffed with rice and sometimes ground meat. The farmer's market here is open year round on Saturdays, last week I found the most beautiful strawberries, a little early but red and ripe all the way through. With those I plan on making a light Strawberry Panna Cotta this week- just a little break from all the rich desserts of the month past, but still feeding my need (ok, addiction) to sweets.

for me this time of year is perfect for some veggie chili - beans are always available and its a great way to use those canned tomatoes (or i suppose buy canned tomatoes).

i even like to serve my chili with some stewed cabbage or other greans on the side and a hearty slice of fresh whole grain bread.

any nothing beats some (easy to make) vanilla icecream with some warmed strawberry or raspberry jam on the top, which i tend to make waaay too much of in the summer. hmm... i think i have dinner planned!

Luckily, Phoenix's farmers' market is still going strong. Root veggies, winter squash, all for roasting, and leafy greens to saute or add some bulk to soup have been looking great from week to week. I've been able to experiment with veggies that haven't gotten much air time in my kitchen: kohlrabi, beets, turnips, radishes, and parsnips. Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage are constant in my kitchen--steamed, blanched, or golden-crusted in a saute pan. The citrus fruits are making their first appearance here, too, and they're amazing! Juice and zest has been going into everything!

For dinner, I took raw red cabbage and chopped it up like coleslaw, then added raw cauliflower florets, dressed it with good olive oil and red wine vinegar. I thought I had too much and would save some but it was so good, I ate it all.

I'm just glad that I'm no longer a kid and having to eat canned beets all winter!

I actually got spring mix in my box last week. ;) It's been a really mild winter.

I've been using the cabbage in everything from okonomiyaki to halushki to chili to cabbage soup. I want to make stuffed cabbage next week.

Lots of dark greens. I did a pot of greens for New Years day and have been sauteeing them otherwise.

We've been making lots of minestones/soups from "The Silver Spoon" cookbook and subbing cabbage for everything hard to find/not so local. Plus, thanks to the crazy weather, our backyard parsley patch is thriving.

Red Cabbage, mixed with rice, mushrooms and soya sauce.
Like it mentions above, cook the cabbage in a frying pan for a short while to soften it up.