Winter marks the dark and cold time of the year when many fresh foods are not as readily available and thus, cost quite a bit more at the market. For those of us who prefer to eat foods in season as our ancestors did, in season foods include starchy items that store well, like dried beans, root vegetables, hard-shelled squashes, firm fruits, several members of the brassica (cabbage) family and grains. Ah, comfort food. Let us not forget preserved foods put aside in the abundant autumn, like fermented vegetables and beverages, dried fruit and smoked meats. An exception to the rule of winter's seasonal foods are the citrus fruits which ripen in warmer climates as the more temperature regions are blanketed with snow, providing a refreshing bright spot on the winter table. In my garden, Jerusalem artichokes and parsnips are resting under the snow, ready to be dug up whenever the ground is soft enough and the kale is still green if we've given it a bit of cover.
These seasonal foods combine to provide us with traditional meals for Samhain, Midwinter, Imbolc and even Spring Equinox dining.
(Note: This article references winter in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, produce grown outside your home region may be "in season" in different seasons.)