Mequoda Publishing Network is happy to share some hot recipes for chilly days. What a heavenly aroma! Garlic, rosemary, potatoes, and carrots all slow-roasting in the oven make even the chilliest winter day feel warm and cozy. All those root cellar vegetables like winter squash, parsnips, turnips, onions, sweet potatoes, and beets are the essence of a hearty winter meal. And what’s not to love? Not only are they tasty and good for you, they also hold up well in storage. Even if you don’t have a root cellar, almost any cool, dark spot will do to keep these vegetables fresh for up to a few months. That is worth celebrating!
I’m sure you can imagine plenty of comforting winter meals to make with these ingredients: a rich Beef and Barley stew with plenty of carrots and onions, rustic Potato Leek soup, or some classic Au Gratin Potatoes! So yummy!
Those delicious vegetables and comforting meals are the inspiration for this edition of RecipeLion Magazine! In all, you’ll find more than 30 recipes that take advantage of the delightful, earthy flavors these foods bring to our table. From unique salads and exciting main meals to classic desserts, these recipes explore the joy of a home-cooked meal on a cold winter day.
Here’s a sample of some of the dishes on the menu for this issue of RecipeLion Magazine:
Root vegetable … salads? You bet! I really can’t get enough of the many flavors and textures that root vegetables and winter fruits bring into a dish. And if you’re into the aesthetics, you can’t ask for a more colorful salad than one that includes bright red beets, orange carrots, deep red and green kale, striped apples, and multi-colored grains. Take a look at 7 Root Cellar Salads: Fresh Flavors from the Depths to find out how versatile salads can be!
- Beet Salad with Goat Cheese: Beets and goat cheese are one of the best flavor combinations to ever touch a plate, if you ask me. Creamy, zesty goat cheese is a heavenly complement to the sweet, earthy flavors of steamed beets.
- Colorful Carrot Slaw: There’s cole slaw, and there’s this Colorful Carrot Slaw that’s a feast for the eyes and for the taste buds. And to make it even more fun, you don’t have to stick to orange carrots. Add in some red or purple carrots to make this an even more exciting dish.
- Apple & Acorn Squash Salad: It’s smooth. It’s sweet. It’s crunchy. It’s an Apple and Acorn Squash Salad. This salad is healthy, too, but the real reason we love this one around my home is the variety of flavors that kale, cranberries, pecans, Brussels sprouts, and homemade Pumpkin Goddess Dressing bring to this dish.
As much as we love summer vegetables, winter vegetables offer so many options when it comes to recipes. Root vegetables, especially, seem to have an endless array of possibilities. You can bake them, steam them, roast them, fry them, grate them to use as a base for a dish, puree them for smooth recipes, or dice them for textured meals. Add herbs for savory meals; spices for deep, rich flavors; honey or brown sugar for a touch of sweetness … honestly, I feel like winter fruits and vegetables have more than their fair share of culinary greatness. Take a look at some of these recipes in 15 Subterranean Delights: Savory Recipes from the Root Cellar.
- Fancy Honey-Glazed Roasted Carrots: If you love the idea of a roasted but al dente and still mildly crispy carrot, caramelized in walnut oil in the oven, and sweetened with a touch of honey and cinnamon, then you’ll love this recipe. Whenever you have a big bounty of carrots, it will come in handy.
- Baked Parsnip Fries: Sure, they’re healthy. Yes, they sound fancy if you want to impress your dinner guests. But what I love, love, LOVE about these Baked Parsnip Fries is how absolutely unique and delicious they are. Parsnips have an earthy taste, like carrots, but they’re ever so slightly sweeter. And baked and served with the Creamy Balsamic Reduction Dip included here, they’re a beautiful balance of crispy, tender, sweet, tangy, and savory.
- Best Beef & Barley Stew: Indulge in the heartwarming comfort of Beef & Barley Stew, a hearty and satisfying dish that embodies the essence of home-cooked goodness. This stew is a flavorful fusion of tender beef, earthy mushrooms, sweet carrots, and quick-cooking barley, all bathed in a rich and savory broth.
- Carrot-Ginger Soup: If you ask me, carrot and ginger are two roots made for each other. Zingy, warm ginger and sweet carrots bring out the best in each other. In this recipe, we start by roasting carrots until they caramelize, along with garlic (yum!). From there it just gets better and better, with coriander, allspice, thyme, and mint rounding out the flavors.
- Surprise Butternut Squash Soup: This recipe might sound a little odd at first. You have the sweet, nutty flavors of butternut squash, a touch of spice from a jalapeño pepper, the sour flavors of a Granny Smith apple, and the richness of coconut milk, along with plenty of herbs and spices. Strange as it may seem, these flavors work magic as they mingle together in the slow cooker throughout the day. The result is a rich, creamy soup with deep, luxurious flavors that you’ll want to enjoy over and over.
All those fruits and veggies in your root cellar and cold storage aren’t just for savory dishes! Get your sweet tooth ready for 10 Root Cellar Sweets and find out how versatile root vegetables and winter fruits are in the kitchen. Check out these sweet treats that feature fruits and vegetables like apples, carrots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and more!
- Cinnamon Baked Apples: If you love the warm, comforting spice of cinnamon; the deep, rich flavors of brown sugar and caramel; the tangy sweetness of apple cider; and, of course, the classic taste of apple, this is a can’t-miss dish. Not only does this dish fulfill all your winter dessert dreams, it’s also quite the showstopper, with cored Gala apples as the serving dish.
- No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Balls: Cheesecake, pumpkin pie spices, and no baking? This decadent dessert has it all! Oh! Did I mention the outer shell of sweet, white chocolate? This recipe is getting a lot of show time around here, that’s for sure!
- Classic Carrot Cake: I love having carrots in storage. They add such a sense of warm comfort to mid-winter recipes. Carrots are, of course, great in soups, salads, cole slaw, and so many savory dishes, but there’s no beating the joy of a Classic Carrot Cake! Carrot cake manages to be sweet, but not too sweet, moist and rich, and always rapturous!
I hope you enjoy this issue of RecipeLion Magazine, and find time to enjoy the wonderful flavors of the season!
About RecipeLion Magazine: RecipeLion Magazine is all about creating and adapting recipes so even the busiest cooks can successfully make tasty and delicious dinners. All recipes are guaranteed to be family-friendly, tested for ease of preparation, tested to ensure deliciousness, and guaranteed to include readily available ingredients.
About Mequoda Publishing Network: Mequoda provides actionable ideas, inspiration, and advice for gardeners, cooks, and crafting enthusiasts—with the goal of improving their lives and increasing personal enrichment and enjoyment. We operate five multiplatform consumer brands, including six magazines, 28 email newsletters, and more than 100 digital books. We partner with dozens of sponsors to help them market their products to our audiences. For nearly two decades, Mequoda has explored and expanded the evolving art and science of multiplatform publishing and marketing. With in-depth research, aggressive testing, and cutting-edge strategy, Mequoda has developed a reputation as an industry leader for building and operating multiplatform communities that serve, engage, and delight consumers, sponsors, partners, and affiliates.
Contact: To learn more about our Email Marketing and Broadcasting Services, Exchange Program, or to become a marketing partner with any of our publications, please contact me at Christy@Mequoda.com or 781-556-1006.