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By the time you read this, I will have landed in Tokyo and stuffed myself with beer and delicious food at the first izakaya I find. When I return in January, I'll have a lot of food-related photos and tales to tell. In the meantime, as we near the winter solstice, I thought it fitting to talk about yuzu fruit.

It's winter, which means there's a lot of squash in the markets right now. Big ones. People have been writing in and asking us what they can do with all these squashes. They can be a little intimidating. They get big. There are squashes in so many shapes, colors, and textures. They have names like Hubbard, Lakota, Hokkaido, and Marina di Chioggia. Some are sweeter and some are nuttier. Well, we're here to help you with storage tips, preparation, and recipes. Read on ...

What do we like to sip on the cold days of winter? Hot drinks like hot chocolate, hot buttered bourbon & cider, and hot apple cider!

Acorns aren't just for the birds and squirrels - we can eat them too! Bet you didn't know that. Acorns were a staple food for the Native Americans. Acorns are full of nutrients and are lower in fat than other nuts, and are believed to lower blood sugar levels.

Here's another wonderfully easy candy recipe for the holidays - salt caramels!

If you're making your own candy this holiday season to give as gifts or to keep for yourself, you may be working with fondant or tempering chocolate. If so, you're going to need a marble slab. Marble surfaces are useful for working with certain types of food because they stay cool - if you place one in the fridge, it will hold the cold temperature for a few hours. When hot candy is poured on a marble slab, it cools more quickly and this makes it easier to work with.

As the cold days of winter arrive, the Farmer's Markets start to fill with bright, sunny citrus fruits in many sizes, shapes, and colors. One such fruit that livens up the cold market days is the Meyer lemon.

As you prepare to pack and ship fragile gifts to your loved ones for the holidays, here's a sustainable alternative to bubble wrap and foam peanuts; popcorn! Economical, sustainable, and efficient, plain popcorn provides just as much cushion as plastic packaging materials do.

Perhaps you'd like to add a touch of elegance to your holiday party, or give someone a special gift. Why not caviar? "But we're in a recession! The economy is terrible! Who can afford that stuff?" Oh, but it doesn't have to break the bank! You can buy delicious caviar at reasonable prices. Keep reading, we'll tell you the how and why ...

Whether you're planning on making candy for the holidays or want to make your own candy in general, it's a great idea. Candymaking is both economical and fun, and since you're choosing your own ingredients, you know exactly what's going into it. You can easily make your own organic, low-sugar candy without additives and preservatives. In this post, we'll share a recipe for making your own peppermint patties. You'll never buy them at a store again!

Check this out! At a recent International Next-Generation Robot Fair in Osaka, Japan, Yaskawa Electric demonstrated a robot called the Motoman SDA10 that can cook okonomiyaki, among other things. You remember okonomiyaki - that savory Japanese pizza-pancake that we wrote about a few months ago.

An ubiquitous Italian dish in the fall and winter, Risotto di Zucca e Salvia, or Risotto with Squash and Sage, is a hearty meal that sticks to your ribs and fills your belly in the cold parts of the year. It makes use of the full bounty of winter squashes that show up in farmer's markets from October to February and fill root cellars.

Perhaps you've seen these ubiquitous all-purpose knives with hollowed-out indentations on the edge of the blade. What is a santoku knife, and why should you have one? When should you use one, and what's the deal with those scalloped edges? Read on ...

Bright orange carrots. Recipe suggestion: Carrots in Marsala.

Last Sunday, I went to the San Rafael Farmer's Market, which is in full winter swing. Christmas trees and cider were there, along with broccoli, kale, citrus, persimmons, carrots, brussels sprouts, potatoes, and many different kinds of squashes. The colors have changed from the summer; there are more oranges and greens and browns, and less reds.

I hope you enjoy these photos that I took, along with the recipe suggestions.