It’s dark and cold, and cold, and dark, and dark, and dark. Did I mention how cold it is?! I’m trying to remind myself that last January I bore a -20-degree winter in Montana, and 47 in San Francisco is nothing to whine about (the wind is real though).
But a few little things are brightening my winter weekday routine—and I think you just might 'love ‘em too!
#1 Kumquats
Years ago, I was staying with a French family just before Christmas and they served passionfruit at the breakfast table—isn’t this like a summer fruit you can only get in Hawaii?! So many tropical fruits are actually native to winter. I have to imagine Mother Nature knew we might need a little pick-me-up.
The tangy sweet juice of any tropical fruit is enough to perk you up, but right now, my favorite is kumquat. As I recently told a girlfriend—they’re kinda like eating Sourpatch (just minus all the crap).
Here are three things you can do with them:
Eat them whole. Seriously. Just before it’s too bitter, it gets sour, and before it gets too sour, it gets sweet. And your tastebuds smile the whole time.
Slice them thinly and toss into an arugula salad (thank you to our recipe tester extraordinaire Joanna for teaching me this one!)
Or pickle them so they get jammy and soft (recipe here). Put ‘em in a salad, grain bowl, alongside seafood, or even on a fancy cheese platter.
#2 Ginger, Lemon, Honey Tea
I once had the ginger, lemon, honey tea from San Francisco’s Beloved café and had since made myself a promise to try and recreate it. There’s no tea bag, and a light squeeze of lemon and a bobbing knob of ginger just won’t do it. I made a big batch to last the week—and the trick is in the ginger “juice”. When it’s too late for coffee or tea, this is my ultimate afternoon go-to!
Recipe: Rinse a few pieces of ginger (you can leave the skin on!), then chop into a few large pieces so it’s about 1 cup. Blend with 4 cups of purified water until it’s liquified. Strain into a carafe (discard the solids) and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks (stir each time before you use!)
In a mug, combine: ¼ cup ginger juice, the juice of 1 whole lemon, and 1 heaping tsp honey, then fill mug to top with hot water. Stir to dissolve honey!