Food Design, Bits of NutritionCarlene ThomasFebruary 16, 2015carlene thomas, healthfully ever after, fruit, food blog, healthy living blog dc, sprout by hp, CIY

Winter Citrus 101 Infographic

Food Design, Bits of NutritionCarlene ThomasFebruary 16, 2015carlene thomas, healthfully ever after, fruit, food blog, healthy living blog dc, sprout by hp, CIY

/// Disclosure: Thanks to HP and their new Sprout computer for partnering with me for this post! #SproutbyHP #CIY ///

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Let us pause to enjoy the bounty and quality of winter citrus. I know we're all complaining about winter being so freaking long (over it), but there are definite benefits. Like appreciation of warmth and sunlight. Or being able to wear cute scarves. And not to harp on the citrus but...citrus. Here are just a few of the good ones you need to pick up:

Winter Citrus 101:

Lemon: Bright yellow with a protrusion at the blossom end, lemon is my favorite for dressings, cocktails, lemon chicken and of course, lemon meringue pie! If you haven't tried Meyer lemons just yet, you're missing out on these sweeter cousins.
Lime: Lime is one of the big flavors in Mexican and Thai cooking. With a little less vitamin C than a lemon, it's still a beautiful dish brightener. I love it with rice noodles and veggies.
Kumquat: You'd be surprised how many people have never had kumquats, but just head to most grocery stores and you'll see these adorable citrus fruits in plastic clamshell containers. Ripe ones are amazing with a charcuterie plate.
Orange: If you grew up in the 80's and 90's chances are you had orange slices during every half time soccer game you played. Try some of the lesser known varieties like Satsumas for a sweet and juicy surprise.
Grapefruit: Slice them up and top with mint for a refreshing side dish to breakfast! If you've found grapefruit a little bitter in previous experiences, try adding a touch of brown or palm sugar on top and broiling in the oven.

So let's talk about this awesome graphic for two seconds. You know I'm obsessed with the beauty of food and this is the coolest new piece of technology for 2015 to translate IRL food to on screen or graphics: The HP Sprout! This is total Star Trek-ness but you can scan in real objects: be it fruit or plants or leaves...or text from a book that you can then edit. Or a pattern from fabric. IT IS INSANE. It's perfect for you if you don't understand how to use Illustrator or Photoshop!