Don't let winter give you the blues - hit back and cook with color

I don't know about the rest of you but most of us are getting a little tired of winter and here in New York its been the snowiest winter in a long, long time.

Time to get yourself out of that funk and get on the grill. There are plenty of bright and colorful vegetables available this time of year and nothing will make you feel better than a colorful plate. I have been saying it forever and I will say it again - I cook with color! This is a big fat grilled pork chop with some winter vegetables. I have a potato mash, a parsnip mash a little cabbage, apple and carrot slaw along with a little red pepper and some squash. It made my eyes dance and my tummy happy. I think you will agree that when you cook with color everybody wins.

The Color Purple - CCC challenge June = COLOR

There should be little doubt in your mind what my favorite color is. I had this fantastic purple pull over shirt in college and I loved this shirt but it was starting to get a little frayed on the edges. One day I was out in a park flying kites with my beautiful new girlfriend and her little brother and our kites were getting tossed around like rag dolls. I had a solution, and since I was wearing a t-shirt under my purple shirt I took off my beloved shirt and I tore it into strips to use as tails for our kites. My new girlfriend was stunned, pleased, confused and now more smitten than ever. She knew this was my favorite shirt and she said in a stern voice-"why did you do that?" and I said "our kites have to fly" but she said "thats your favorite shirt" and I said "it still is." We watched our kites with their new purple tails bob and weave in the afternoon sky as gently and perfect as a kite could fly.

Purple is a majestic color. I think its the only color that gets this status. So I present to you my regal fare.

Silkie roasted chicken with grilled plums and figs served with roasted purple potatoes and a warm purple cabbage and onion compote as well as a cold purple cabbage and onion slaw with a warm blueberry vinaigrette and parsley oil. Check back to check out all the creatively colorful dishes from The Creative Cooking Crew. Thanks to Joan and Lazaro for hosting these challenging events.