This past weekend on National Public Radio’s “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me,” Michael Pollan made a guest appearance. Usually, the host of this news quiz show asks the famous person about his or her work, and sometimes the panel of comedians and writers chimes in with a few funny comments. To my surprise, this time around, comic Paula Poundstone gave the guest a run for his money.

Humans the only species that needs experts to tell them how to eat? Au contraire. Poundstone pointed out that she’s constantly telling her dog to get his head out of the garbage can.

Ring Dings possibly not a real food? Poundstone proved that they handily pass the five-ingredients-or-less test, totaling just three: Devil’s food cake, creamy filling, and a rich chocolate outer coating.

Back when I was a wee tot enjoying my first veggies, birkat hachammah, the holiday honoring the creation of the sun—literally “the blessing of the sun”—quietly came and went.

On April 8, 28 years later, birkat hachammah will return. This time, I’m hearing all sorts of fanfare from a Jewish community more aware than ever of what the sun provides, and seizing the opportunity to encourage sustainable practices. As shared on this very blog, organizations are mobilizing.

Perhaps the most quirky and inspiring sign of this foment is the Topsy-Turvy bus from the Teva Learning Center.

This head-over-heals double school bus has been scooting between synagogues and schools on used vegetable oil since late February. Its mission? To teach kids about the blessing of the sun, and using our solar gifts wisely.

Red meat in moderation is okay, but you probably shouldn’t chow down on steak every day. That’s what conventional dietary wisdom says. Now, a National Cancer Institute study suggests, the distinction between moderation and daily intake has become a matter of life and death.

In the study, published Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, 545,653 people ages 50 to 71 were asked about their eating habits and then tracked over the next 10 years. During that time, a little over 70,000 died.

“Local? No, no. None of this here is local,” said the sour-faced woman wrapped in blankets next to her table of produce. “But at least I’m honest. You see that guy over there? He’s selling strawberries as ‘home grown.’” The woman scoffed and shook her head. “Home grown! In February!”

I knew better than to expect local strawberries at this time of year. (Although I wondered if maybe that guy’s hometown was in Mexico… I really want to believe people). I was just trying to find potatoes and greens for some brunch dishes.

Not everyone suffers from this problem, but I personally have leftover holiday candy. Mine is a half bag of Sunspire chocolate drops, which I bought as dreidel game “gelt.” It turns out you don’t need an entire 10-ounce bag of M&M wannabes to play a good game of dreidel, and being one of the only women on the planet who does not require frequent intake of chocolate (some kind of hormonal imbalance, I’m sure), I had these things sitting around for the past two weeks.

I did notice them sitting there and I did think about snacking on them. Somehow, though, I couldn’t get into the idea of crunching down on the sugary candy shells and the room temperature chocolate inside.

This past weekend, I saw my first snowfall of the year. The plump flakes reminded me of the short, crisp days to come, of walks where a bright red berry or a still-green blade of grass will surprise me.  As winter days wink by, flanked by longer and longer intervals of darkness, I’ll be more and more on the lookout for sparks of color and light.

The snowfall also got me looking forward to Hanukah, and thinking about finding a few mirrors to multiply the candle flames. Because if a set of singing sparks is lovely, why not bolster the chorus with two or three more?

I’ll also be looking for sparks for the table as the farmer’s market offerings in my area lean toward turnips and potatoes. I recently experimented my way to a salad that I think will offer a nice, bright compliment to beloved, oil-soaked latkes, roasted root vegetables, and other wintery dishes. It brings together several winter sparks. The base is the vibrant green of kale, which splashes its emerald leaves across the cold fields of the Mid-atlantic this time of year, which is studded with orange sections and glistening pomegranate seeds—imported sparks from warmer climes. (Of course, if you live in California or Florida, this scenario is a little different!)

Recipe after the jump…