Do you feel more vital during the month you were born? When I was brought home from the hospital in February forty-some years ago, my father pulled my mother and me on a toboggan through a foot of New England’s finest to get to the front door. I think these snowy origins helped make me an optimistic person. While many folks dread the unending days of late winter and the incessant cold, I look forward to this short month. I celebrate the gift of my life, plot heart-shaped gifts for people I love, and get outside.

For a walker, exercising outdoors in February is ideal. The air smells fresh again, cleansed and reborn. Checks snap red with healthy color and eyes glisten. It takes a lot to get sweaty. The birds are easy to see and hear, flitting in architectural trees. When you walk on garbage pick-up days the cans at the curbs don’t even smell. You see, there really is so much to enjoy.

Home becomes welcoming hearth and the kitchen a playground to concoct warm soups and spicy breakfasts. Sunday’s roast turkey breast with Yorkshire pudding or garlic mashed potatoes is prescribed comfort food. It’s February! Hot chocolate is mandatory and chocolate is in season! Warm overstuffed chairs invite us to crawl in with a book, a steaming mug, and a soft throw.

One more reason to be optimistic about this graciously brief month is the winter flowers. Tentative violets peer out from shaded spots. Friendly-faced pansies cluster in brilliant hues. Amidst all this the daffodils start blooming! Vivid fluted horns in happy yellows let us know the sun is coming closer once again. I’ll stop here (before you call me a Pollyanna), and share some favorite recipes to warm you up.

Huevos Rancheros

Even if you’re not still on the post-holiday slim down, this Mexican/Southwestern egg dish makes sense. Two free range eggs, a half cup of your favorite salsa, and a couple of lowfat tortillas or a high fiber flatbread are all you need. It’s my “Get happy on a cold morning with a warm-me-up spicy breakfast.” Serves two.

2 lowfat corn tortillas

2 free range eggs

½ cup salsa of choice (I mixed green and red but also try bean, corn, or fruit and tomato salsa)

Optional toppings:

sour cream

grated cheese of choice

cilantro

Spray a non-stick saute pan with grapeseed oil. Warm salsa and form two holes in the center. Crack eggs into holes and cook until desired doneness. Warm tortillas on plates and slide salsa and egg right onto the tortillas. I don’t add anything else, but you might serve with optional garnishes.

Carrot Orange Soup

This mellow, buttery soup was an appetizer my niece, Jackie Yates, made for us during our holiday in England. It was such a treat! It has more texture than most pureed soups, but it’s still soft and gentle on the stomach. The bright orange color with green garnish makes a striking presentation. And it uses the best of what’s in season for your health. Four servings

1½ tbsp. butter

4 scallions, sliced

4 cups carrots, sliced

3 sticks celery, sliced

1 quart vegetable stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Finely grated rind and juice of 1 orange

1 or 2 scallions or chives chopped for garnish

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan. Add the scallion, carrots, and celery and cook gently for about 10 minutes. Add stock, season and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes until vegetables are tender. Cool slightly then blend in a food processor. Return to pan and add orange rind and juice. Reheat gently; adding a little more stock if the mixture is too thick. Adjust seasoning and garnish. Simply delicious!

Chocolate Mint Kisses

You might try these light meringue kisses for Valentine's Day. Made with natural peppermint oil and chocolate chips, each has less than one gram of fat, very few calories, and bursts with flavor. Their varied texture is satisfying, slightly crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle. The ingredients and method are simple, but it is important not to deviate from the recipe. Makes approximately 1 ½ to 2 dozen.

2 organic egg whites

1/8 tsp. biosalt

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. confectioner's sugar or powdered fructose

2 tsp. cocoa powder

1/3 cup naturally sweetened dark chocolate chips

1 scant drop essential peppermint oil

Line two cookie sheets with oiled parchment paper. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Beat egg whites with salt and ½ cup confectioners sugar until soft peaks form. Slowly add remaining two tablespoons of sugar while beating until meringue stiffens. Fold in cocoa and chips. Gently stir in only one drop of peppermint oil or 1/4 tsp. peppermint extract. Using a heart shaped cookie cutter, spoon one scant tablespoon of meringue into the heart or simply drop by spoon on lined cookie sheet. Lift heart and repeat. Bake for 15 minutes then turn oven to 250 degrees and bake for 25 minutes. Let them cool in the oven. Warning: it’s hard to eat just one!

Happy Winter, Happy Valentine’s, Happy February!