Persimmon Pudding (Bread) with Lemon Sauce

Celebrating Year of the Wood Horse with Pudding

Recipe from "Orange County Fair Centennial Cookbook" and Dave Wilson Nursery

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Let’s welcome the Chinese Year of the Wood Horse. According to Bay Area astrologer and feng shui consultant Susan Levitt, we can expect fast victories, unexpected adventure, surprising romance, and success in travel off-the-beaten path this year.  Since China produces almost 75% of the persimmons in the world—and because I still have a goodly amount from my friend and super-realtor Bill, I’m celebrating the new year with an award-winning persimmon pudding recipe from the 1920s, topped with in-season lemon sauce from a longtime California-based fruit grower.

Slow Cooked Chicken Two Ways

DIY Taco in the Works

Recipes for Tacos and Chicken with Pasta

Slow cookers. Gotta love a device that cooks dinner for you. It’s even better when it cooks two dinners at once, and they’re both comfort foods. With my friend Jenn’s help, a couple years back I multiplexed my slow cooking with a Turkey Chili and Soup idea. Tacos (Jenn’s original idea) and chicken with pasta are this year’s double dinners. Like the super-simple originals, just a few ingredients go into the slow cooker, and other dinner preparation is minimal. This leaves plenty of time for other fun activities on cold winter nights.

Hot Asian Slaw AKA Crack Slaw

Delicious and Nutritious

Recipe by Robin

The words “Crack Slaw” conjure up two vivid images in my mind, neither of which is appetizing. The term officially refers to the street drug crack and its addictive qualities, doubtlessly coined by someone who’s never seen the dark, vacant look in an addict’s eyes.  I’d like to reinvent this slaw as something sexy, something that we can choose to eat rather than mindlessly wolfing down, with a name that we can utter to our grandma or pastor without having to elaborate. Wouldn’t you really rather eat a Hot Asian Slaw?

Chunky Gingered Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin Soup with a Difference

Recipe by Robin

There are tons of recipes for smooth and creamy pumpkin soups, and my husband is bored by all of them. “What could you put in there to make some texture?” he asks. Interestingly enough, pumpkin naturally has a stringy texture, which most recipes puree into submission. When cut into chunks the strings make an agreeable bumpiness, not unlike chunks of spuds in potato salad. Add some ginger and turmeric, and voila, a unique pumpkin soup with an earthy heartiness that even a hefty he-man can love.

Pennsylvania Dutch German Hot Potato Salad

Hot And Hearty Fare

Recipe adapted from Midwest Gardeners Cookbook

Back in the day, my longtime deceased aunties were cooks at a Pennsylvania convent. They liked making tasty foods on a budget. When the Mother Superior (nun in charge) declared that God had sent them, one quickly replied, “He didn’t have to work very hard to get us here.” Luckily, that Mother Superior could appreciate my aunt’s sense of humor, and good food. A favorite in the convent, and at home, was "German Potato Salad," made with vinegar and bacon and served hot.

Currant Scones or Fat Rascals

Classic Scone with Jam & Clotted Cream

Recipe adapted from The Secret Garden Cookbook

As of January 6, the holiday season is concluded and we enter a more quiet and contemplative time of year. Looking back on the joy of the holidays and the blessings we’ve received during 2013 helps us pre-pave the way for a happy 2014. No need to remember what’s less than pleasant; it’s a brand new year now. Even tiny successes make rewarding recollections—like how I learned a secret to making scones on Christmas morning.

Top 10 Seasonal Eating Posts 2013

Bacon + Onion + Pizza = Yum

The Blogging Year in Review

Although popularity is only one criterion for greatness, number of clicks is an easy-to-assess indicator of topics that interest readers most. Several of my favorite recipes showed up in the top 10, along with some rather surprising non-recipe posts. So, without further ado, here are Seasonal Eating’s top hits for 2013.

Hot Cocktails: the Snuggle and the Thaw

Double Thaw with Extra Hazelnuts

Recipes by Robin and Penelope

Recently my friend Penelope took the opportunity presented by unseasonably cold weather to create a new hot coffee cocktail. I never drink real coffee (it makes me crazier), but the Thaw—with Godiva chocolate liqueur, Kahlua, and Bailey’s Irish cream sounded too good to pass up. So I bought a handful of decaf beans, ground them, and had hubby Bruce instruct me on the use of his French press. But while I was getting my coffee act together, I couldn’t resist experimenting with the brand new bottle of Godiva chocolate liqueur—a spirit that I’d never encountered before.  Having a bit of experience with hot cocoa toddy-making, chocolate seemed like the perfect foil for more chocolate—laced with a bit of alcohol.

Hot Red Cabbage Slaw

Bright Winter Hot Slaw

Recipe adapted from Midwest Gardener’s Cookbook

It’s the shortest day of the year, so time is precious. Are you ready for the fastest, simplest, recipe ever blogged at Seasonal Eating? How about a delicious side dish that’s bright purple-red and requires just a microwave and about 20 minutes to prepare? A recipe that’s cheap and uses few ingredients, yet provides vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, fiber, and possible protection from cancer? That requires only a knife and cutting board plus two bowls, one of which can be used for serving? Yes, friends, this recipe is almost too good to be true. And did I mention that it’s delicious?

Christmas Holiday Potluck and Recipe Ideas

My Neighbors' Rosehips

Suggestions by Robin

Here in the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice arrives this Saturday. Christmas will be here in a week, followed by the last week of the year and New Year’s. It’s a magical time of year, when days are short and hearts are bright. It’s a time to share food and fun with friends and family, a time when charity towards others is easy—ideally speaking. But what if we’re stressed, overwhelmed, and can’t balance our obligations? What if we’re estranged from our families? And OMG, what if we’re working retail? How can we best enjoy the holiday season as it builds inexorably to its conclusion?