Eating

After one of those moments when you realize that you, all by yourself, can make something you love to eat. And - quickly and easily - you can make it so much Better and Cheaper than you can buy it. So making it becomes a habit.

Serious, real-deal chili. Deeply delicious and satisfying. Deep, broad and complex flavors. There's much more going on here than just heat. With or without carne, you just need great chile powder to make a great chili for National Chili Day.

First thing I notice when I travel in Mediterranean countries is how great the food is. When I come home, I read about how healthy it is. A new study says it's even Better. A prescription for all-delicious foods that prevent heart attack and stroke.

Months to go before the tomatoes grow and ripen. Meanwhile, here's a bright, juicy, sweet stand-in. Italians call this giardiniera - things from the garden. Lightly pickled. During winter, when the garden's gone.

Here in the States, we put sauerkraut on our hot dogs. In the Alsace region of France, they put hot dogs on their sauerkraut. If you like dogs, sauerkraut and potato salad, you'll love this big, flavorful cold weather meal.

Hot and steamy. Aromatic. Deeply delicious. Completely satisfying. It'll make you happy. Eat very slowly or you'll eat too much of this high-protein, vegetarian complete-meal-in-a-bowl.

Winter's answer to salad. Smoking hot, right out of the oven. Chard, kale, onion. Brown on top, bubbling throughout. A very green and rich-but-not-heavy gratin casserole. You'll be so happy you made it. And amazed you made it so easily.

Nothing like the frozen stuff you remember from your childhood. Everything Chicken Pot Pie always wanted to be. The perfect steaming hot dish on a still-cold late winter night. Shockingly delicious. Call it something else if that makes you feel better.

I love dark chocolate. I hate to waste food. So I was delighted to see what happens when you give an orange peel a quick dip in melted chocolate. A very adult candy. And each orangette weighs in at 5 calories and costs less than 5 cents. Happy Better Cheaper Valentine's Day.