By Lisa Golden Schroeder

What food is just an all-round good guy? High in nutrients (fiber-packed, so perfect for digestive health, lowering cholesterol, and regulating our blood sugar levels–and rich in minerals like iron and notably high in B vitamins) AND a very happy partner with just about any tempting combination of seasonings. The answer is the simple lentil. I’ve always thought lentils aren’t given their due in this part of the world, relegated to the occasional soup or mixed bean stew. But outside of our borders, lentils are an important source of cheap protein and are magically transformed daily into what might be the quintessential comfort food in countries like India. They’re the ideal pantry staple as they store well, are super quick to cook, versatile, and truly satisfying—a nice burst of good carbs.

Years ago I discovered red lentils, another variety in a leggy legume family (thought to be one of the first cultivated crops in central Asia—about 8000 years ago) that ranges in color from yellow and red to deep black. We most commonly find the disc-shaped brown version around here, which do take a bit of time to cook because of their tougher skin and explains why they’re often tossed into the soup pot. Though they do hold their shape well and are luscious stirred into a grainy pilaf. But the tinier rounder red lentils (look for them in the bulk bins aisle) are sold without their seed coat and cook up in a flash—only 15 minutes or so. And surprise! You’ll have a lovely rough yellow mash, with no work at all. It’s easy to love them in the following soupy stew, that’s filled with East Indian spices and chunks of rich chicken thigh meat.

This recipe is the start of that flavor exploration I mentioned last week—using less expected seasoning combos with unsuspecting ingredients. Mixing up warm spices that we generally associate with sweet baking has a natural home with savory foods, but is not as familiar to American-style cooking as it is elsewhere. And using the same flavor in different forms—dried coriander, ground from the seeds of the cilantro (also called coriander in other countries) + a generous sprinkle of the freshly chopped leaves—adds an intriguing depth to the taste of a dish. I’m not stretching us too far this week, but begin thinking about how you might jumble up the flavors of a simple chicken noodle soup, looking beyond carrots, onions, and chopped parsley.

By Lisa Golden Schroeder

We’re hungry this time of year. For real food, food that’s warm, a bit rich, satisfying. We’re done with fancy holiday fare and really done with spending lots of time in the kitchen. I’m just looking for ways to get well-balanced happy meals (so to speak!) to the table. My household is currently mad for Nordic skiing, with team practices every night & ravenous boys arriving home well past supper time. And I know I’m not alone in this, so I’m suggesting we strive for a New Year’s goal of upping our kitchen efficiency. Once again I’m personally grateful for my stash of reliable pantry staples, including a freezer corner filled with chicken.

One-dish dinners, maybe a soup, stew, or baked pasta, are givens. But if time or energy is short, it’s a relief to mix things up. A brothy pasta that’s not a long-simmered potage, a stovetop grill pan that can brown up a few boneless chicken breasts or make a mean grilled cheese, or a pot of super-quick grains transformed into “fried rice” studded with stir-fried chicken, whatever veggies are in the fridge and a splash of bottled peanut sauce…filling, comforting, easy on the stress levels. Give the following recipe a test run—it’s a slurpy cross between tender grilled chicken and chicken noodle soup, ready in under 30 minutes and can be made entirely from a well-stocked pantry. I can tell you that my hungry boys will tackle this with the same enthusiasm as a bowl of cheap ramen noodles, and it’ll keep them going much longer.

By Lisa Golden Schroeder

I lived in Arizona from junior high through college, in the other (not Florida or California) land of citrus fruit. Some of the first things my parents planted in our desert backyard were a lemon, orange, and grapefruit tree. Those fledgling trees needed pampering—their peak growing season was in the wintertime, and the desert can get surprisingly chilly at night. So the kids’ job, at the first forecasts of freezing temps, was to throw old bed sheets or plastic tarps over the citrus trees. This usually happened after dark and we scampered around those trees, tucking in their coverings like we were putting them to bed. And we were rewarded by bumper crops of lemons, healthy harvests of oranges, and a few handfuls of heavy grapefruit in those first years. Watching the fruit grow fascinated me, and I spent a lot of time searching for the early blossoms while I cultivated small pots of mesquite and Palo Verde tree seedlings (and a Venus fly trap at one point) on our back porch. I think it was my awakening as a gardener—in an unconventional environment compared to my Midwest tomato-centric garden now.

Despite our hyper-attention to buying local foods, citrus has to be an exception for most of us in the dead of winter. Unless we’re desert dwellers, forget finding citrus within a 10-mile radius of our homes. So allow yourself this affordable indulgence—and expand your horizons with some unique citrus you won’t see in July!

• Kumquats: tiny, tart oblong orange fruits—just the right size for a single bite. Beautiful garnishing a roast chicken, they’re eaten whole (skin and all). In Florida you might find citrangequats, which are a hybrid cross between kumquats and some other orange varieties. Or lemonquats—a cross between lemons and kumquats.
• Clementines: those cute baby oranges, so easy to peel, will disappear from a fruit bowl in a flash.
• Blood oranges: amazing juiced for breakfast (in Italy, if you’re lucky), the deep red color is arresting and gorgeous in salads.
• Cara Cara oranges: a navel orange hybrid that’s relatively new to the American market from South America, they’re bright orange on the outside and a deep rosy pink inside—and taste a bit like a very sweet red grapefruit. My boys love them—and they’re only found during this early part of the year.
• Tangerines: cut into wedges and roast with bone-in chicken pieces, along with cloves of garlic and tart green olives (tangerine is my FAVORITE flavor of Life Saver candy!)
• Pomelos: tasting like a mild, sweet grapefruit, but much larger in size. The thick rind is lovely made into marmalade or candied. Crossed with tangerines, you’ll get tangelos!
• Key limes: the star of Key Lime pie or tropical cocktails, tiny Key limes have a stronger aroma and more pungent flavor than Persian limes (the type we usually find in the store).
• Kaffir limes: you might run across these bumpy sour limes in Asian markets—and certainly the leaves are available to flavor many Asian and East Indian recipes.
• Meyer lemons: these thin-skinned lemons are thought to be a cross between true lemons and mandarin oranges. I love how juicy and sweet-tart they are—as delicious for just sucking the juice out of as for cooking.

But really, during these grey months, who doesn’t crave the bright flavor of a plain old juicy orange or the sour bite of a lemon?