Winter wonderland

On Martin Luther King Day, we were blessed with an incredible snowfall, the second of the season, which is pretty rare for NYC these days. We celebrated, true to our Upstate nature, and thoroughly enjoyed our snow day.We headed straight for Prospect Park. It was very wet snow, and not at all chilly, so it clung to the trees and outlined the various ponds and lakes with delicate precision. My favorite spot in the park is near the Audubon House where swans, ducks, and geese hunker down for the winter.These kids were so excited, but they could barely walk for all their layers. It was adorable watching all the tykes getting hauled around on sleds, their parents doing all the work. We saw one dad pulling a string of kids on a single line uphill. The babies were just lying back and enjoying the scenery. Seems like things have changed from when I used to go sledding...After our romp through the park, we bought some fresh tulips for the table and cozied up at home with some homemade Indian food (courtesy of the Moosewood cookbook) and a snowy salad. More recipes and photos to follow.
(The tulip vase is a vintage milk glass piece I picked up at a thrift store in Philly...trying to build my collection Martha-style. Also, the tablecloth is a vintage, hand-embroidered piece from the 1950s I got at a garage sale some years back. It really charms up our living/dining room).

Snowfall salad
On a bed of arugula or mixed baby greens, place:
1 pink grapefruit, peel removed and segments detached from membranes
1 avocado, cubed
1-2 oz. feta cheese, crumbled (my favorite is the creamy French feta)

Dressing
Whisk together:
2 parts EVOO
1 part fresh lemon or pink grapefruit juice (from the remaining core)
A squirt of Dijon mustard (about 1 tsp for a 2-person salad)
A pinch of dill seed, cumin, or other spices which match your main course
Cracked black pepper and sea salt to taste

This light salad was a delicious accompaniment to the Indian meal (with echoes of mustard, cumin, and citrus in the dressing) and the crumble feta topping matched the snowfall outside. The citrus and avocado are decisively wintry flavors, which really rounded out our snow day.

After dinner, we snuggled under a huge quilt and watched Mongol, a Chinese film about the rise of Genghis Khan, which I highly recommend. The epic storytelling and incredible scenery made it a memorable treat. Yes, it was a pretty awesome snow day in Brooklyn!