Despite how much I truly dislike winter, there’s always been one big silver lining: all the amazing citrus. I basically stuff myself with in-season oranges, grapefruit, and lemons from January through March in an effort to bring a bit of sunshine to these cold, dark days.

I grew up in a grapefruit-loving household. We’d eat it so frequently through the winter months that went I left for college, I packed along one of our serrated grapefruit spoons to be certain I’d easily be able to keep the tradition in my dorm room. So it was most definitely news to me when I realized not everyone adores the bitter citrus as much as my family does.

Steak may feel like a luxury only to be enjoyed at splurgy restaurants, but that’s hardly the case. Once you learn how to cook it yourself, you may never bother to make a reservation at a steakhouse again. Even the best, priciest cut of steak from a great butcher is cheaper than an average steak dinner out — and it’s much more satisfying to make it at home. Pair your steak with a quick sauce and maybe a glass of wine and be glad you stayed in.

I’ll be honest with you: I’ve been a cucumber skeptic for years. It’s not that I ever disliked the vegetable — it’s just that it never really did that much for me. The crunch is fine, but the flavor is, well, nonexistent. Especially in the summer, when there is so much abundance around, I always felt my time was more well-spent on things like tomatoes and corn.

While I don’t yet have the space in my life for a full-fledged garden, I have happily maintained a small herb garden on my balcony for years. By this time in the summer, it’s overflowing with so much green that I can hardly manage it all, despite constantly clipping sprigs of basil, rosemary, or parsley for whatever I am cooking. So I am always on the hunt for ways to trim down my plants and preserve their goodness for the colder months ahead, when things are much less abundant.

I wait all year long for the arrival of rhubarb — it’s easily one of my most favorite signs of spring. Yet, as well-loved as it is, rhubarb tends to be a little misunderstood. There’s a lot of mystery behind those funny-looking, pink celery-esque stalks. Here’s what you should know. While it’s most commonly paired with strawberries, rhubarb actually isn’t a fruit. It’s technically a vegetable and is in the same family as sorrel.

How do you make vegetables inspiring? Go and raid your pantry! You’ve got all the secrets to amazing veggies in your kitchen already. A quick addition, be it a condiment or spice, can take a baking sheet full of roasted broccoli or a big green salad and transform it into something that may induce cheers.

As someone who could eat her weight (and then some) in cheese, wasting even the tiniest bit sounds like a criminal offense. Yet, even I’ve been there. I sometimes grab too many wedges of this and that and am left with a fridge drawer so full that no matter how many grilled cheese sandwiches I make, I can’t get through all the cheese. Then, before I know it, things start to get moldy. Luckily, there is a super-smart and simple solution to this problem: Freeze your cheese.

For years, risotto intimidated me. All the commotion about constant stirring, attention, and exactness scared me out of really giving it a go; it seemed like a dish I was better off leaving to the professionals in restaurants. Then, when working on a farm in Italy, I met a dear old nonna that shook the fear right out of me. She’d make a giant pot of risotto frequently for the staff and guests staying on the farm and never worked up a sweat.

The arrival of winter squash, in all of its many shapes, sizes, and colors, signals not only a change of seasons, but also a desire for heartier food. Since winter squash is consistently on our shopping lists these days, it’s useful to know just exactly what to look for at the farmers market or grocery store to ensure we buy the best butternut or acorn or spaghetti squash possible. Here are five tips to always keep in mind. Pick up that squash and feel the weight of it in your hands.

While marinades are brilliant at turning cuts of meat that can often dry out when cooked into flavorful, moist meals, it’s easy to forget to plan ahead and get that meat into a marinade well before you’re ready to cook it. Enter: the freezer marinade, when you bring that meat home from the grocery store toss it in a marinade first and freeze it right in it. It will absorb the marinade whenever you decide to thaw it, and then all you have to do is bake, sauté, or grill it.

When I transitioned to working from an office to mostly working at home, I thought my weekday lunches would instantly improve — I’d be able to make something nice out of my own kitchen every day, right? Not quite. Regardless of the environment you work in, lunch is a challenge. There are far too many things vying for your attention at noon Monday through Friday, which makes enjoying the midday meal not exactly easy.

There isn’t really anything sweeter than the arrival of strawberry season. For me, it not only marks the arrival of fresh fruit after a long, cold winter of imported citrus and cellared apples, but it’s also the kickoff to all the berries and stone fruit that’s soon to arrive. Now’s the time to binge on cartons of strawberries until your fingers are stained and your belly is stuffed. Here’s how to buy the best of the best, because the season is too short not to.

While the internet offers plenty of recipes (ahem, our site included), nothing quite beats the feeling a real, live cookbook in your grasp. That’s especially true when you’re diving into the wide world of homemade ice cream and in search of serious guidance to get you on your way. Having something tactile in your grasp is like having a floatie to reach for once you’ve splashed in.

My sister went to college at Tulane University in New Orleans. Each summer she’d come home bragging about the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival, a weekend-long, mystical-sounding party of music, games, rides, and, of course, strawberries. I was always envious of this celebration, but on the plus side I have her to thank for learning about what is now one of my very favorite parts of strawberry season: strawberry beer, specifically Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager.

The actual baking of a cake has never intimidated me — it’s the decorating part. I don’t have a knack for anything like fancy piped buttercream flowers, so more often than not I forgo baking a cake altogether in fear of it never looking celebratory enough. The truth is, though, you definitely don’t need professional cake tools to make a cake that rivals the best bakery in town. What you really need is just a bit of ingenuity.

A trifle just may be the ultimate dessert for a crowd. It can (and actually needs to) be made ahead of time, its layers are always adaptable, and it’s always one heck of a showstopper. The key to making it look as glorious as possible is to serve it in the proper vessel. There are a whole lot to choose from, sure, but here are the three we think are best. Trifles look their best in the classic trifle bowl.

I wish I could say that I am an expert on meal planning, but I have it far from figured out. Each weekend I try to be a little better than the weekend before, getting myself as organized as I can be at that moment for the week ahead. I fail a lot, to be honest. Luckily, there’s frozen tortellini and my colleagues, who never cease to amaze me with their abundance of great meal planning tricks and tips.

I tend to buy as many bunches of asparagus as I can possibly carry home with me when they first hit my local farmers market — and then come back the next day for some more. I can hardly get enough of it when it’s at its peak season in the spring, so it’s important that the bunches I bring back to my kitchen are the best. Here’s what I look for when buying asparagus. The color of the asparagus you’re buying should be bright and vibrant.

Want to quickly elevate your everyday cooking without trying too hard? Make a pan sauce! Suddenly you’re not simply serving porks chops — you’re serving porks chops drizzled with a rich shallot and herb-infused sauce. It’s a fast and fancy dish that sounds like its destined for a dinner party, but you’re really just making dinner on a Wednesday night. That’s the power of a pan sauce. Assembling one is incredibly simple.

This month we partnered with the Astrotwins to reveal the ways your zodiac sign informs your chocolate preferences. According to the Astrotwins, “Each zodiac sign has a distinct set of personality traits — and believe it or not, there’s a chocolate recipe out there to match every horoscope sign.” You’ve got a sensitive palate, Cancer, which means you crave intense flavors that give you pleasure.

This month we partnered with the Astrotwins to reveal the ways your zodiac sign informs your chocolate preferences. According to the Astrotwins, “Each zodiac sign has a distinct set of personality traits — and believe it or not, there’s a chocolate recipe out there to match every horoscope sign.” You, Taurus, are an epicure. You appreciate the finer things in life, especially when it comes to food and drink.