Food Day: Beat the Cold Edition

Happy Food Day folks. Unless you're my parents reading this in South Florida (where I've been told it's in the upper 80's today), you're probably cold. So here are some stories that are sure to warm you up:

Warm up with soup: It's hard to go wrong with soup at this time of year, and the WaPo food section has 36 great recipes for dinner (enough for the next month).

Warm up with stew: If you're looking for something a little heavier than your average soup, the Boston Globe might just do the trick with a traditional Sicilian fish stew recipe that uses dried salted cod, otherwise known as "baccala".

Warm up with a little sip from the bottle (and a bite off the plate): Thanks to Jose Andres, Spanish Tapas is all the rage here in DC, but out west, the Russian version of tapas, Zakuski, is really taking off. According to an LA Times article, Zakuski, which literally translates to "small bites", is meant to be served with vodka (no surprise there), and usually includes, "savory, salty or highly seasoned snacks such as smoked salmon, stuffed eggs, meatballs, vegetable "caviars," small servings of salad or big wedges of hot cheese or mushroom pie."

Warm up with some whole grains: Among the many things Apples can take credit for, I would say that switching me from white rice to whole grain rice was probably the hardest. But now that I've seen the light, I'm hooked, and eat more whole grain rice than probably anything else.

So if you're looking for a warm rice dish tonight, but don't have the time it takes to usually cook whole grain rice, check out this NYT article and get cooking.

Warm up with a little chocolate: In a city that can use all the help they can get in the warming up department, the Chicago Sun Times has a great article about Mexican Hot Chocolate; where to get it, its history, and how it's made.

Have a great day everyone, and stay warm!