The best time of the year is here! Let’s all revel in the chilly climate and get into the festive mood. Winter brings with it a host of colourful vegetables and fruits that you can use to good effect in a range of exciting preparations.Whether it’s fresh green peas or luscious red strawberries, this is the time to feast on them! Try our recipes for delectable strawberry based goodies, and stock up on the green peas so you can experiment with them all throughthe year.In our bid to provide enlightening articles for our readers we have a special feature on spinach, which can be used in a variety of dishes. We also dispel myths about nuts in a comprehensive feature on the most popular varieties. This is the ideal season for a bowl of hearty soup – it will hit just the right spot on a cold day! Try out our recipes for winter soups and feel the warmth seep through you. Use our recipe for simple eggless custard sauce to create memorable sweet dishes that will act as the perfect end to a great meal.One of the highlights of the past couple of months was a special cooking class conducted by Mona Dalal, where a bunch of children proved they could learn to be great chefs too! They showed us that it’s never too early to get familiar with the kitchen!The past few months of merry-making have obviously been very enjoyable but it’s a good idea to think about your health at the start of the year. This issue features an interesting article on food suitable for those suffering from jaundice. Our regular contributors present a host of informative articles - Dr. Nupur Krishnan talks about bones and osteoporosis, while Naini Setalvad suggests the ideal winter foods. Rounding up the issue are our features on numerology, special recipes for Jains and diabetics, and recipes for hungry kids.I would like to wish all our readers a very happy new year. Hope the coming months are filled with happiness, prosperity, good health...and wonderful culinary adventures!