While every family has its own Christmas traditions, how about adding one from medieval England: the wassail bowl?

Wassail (pronounced WAH-sul) is an Anglo-Saxon term meaning “good health,” from the Middle English “wæs hæil.” During the holiday season, the host would invite friends over for a drink. The festivities began when he held up the bowl and called out, “Wassail!”

The tradition began in the 14th century in southern England, home to apple groves galore. The first wassail bowls contained hot mulled cider.

But your wassail bowl can contain whatever type of punch* you like.

This festive interpretation combines brandy plus sherry or madiera with holiday spices and eggs, to make a frothy punch. It’s like egg nog without the cream. The recipe carries on the apple tradition in the form of baked apples that float in the bowl. (To make it easier to scoop the wassail into cups, we suggest a flotilla of small apples rather than a blanket of large ones, as shown in the video.)

If you don’t have sherry or madiera, you can substitute red wine. If you don’t have brandy, use whiskey or rum.

Pick a date and invite friends to share the wassail bowl!

Prefer hot mulled cider? Here’s the recipe.

*FOOD TRIVIA: The word “punch” is adapted from the Hindi word, “panch.” In India, panch was made from five different ingredients: sugar, lemon, water, tea or spices and an alcoholic spirit. The word for “five” in Sanskrit is panchan–hence the name. After carbonated water (soda water) became mainstream in the late 18th century, it became a sixth ingredient, added to the punch for some effervescence. However, the word for six in Sanskrit is shata. “Shat” just doesn’t work, so we’ll stick with “punch.”

Find more of our favorite cocktail recipes.

The new, all-natural line of dairy-free, lactose-free, soy-free, kosher-certified creamers is delicious. And most people won’t be able to tell the difference from conventional creamers.

Vegans and the ever-increasing community of lactose-intolerant people can rejoice. If you’re cutting down on sugar, you can rejoice, too: There’s none in the Original flavor, proving that you can create something excellent without refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup.

Also available in French Vanilla and Hazelnut, the creamers arrive just in time for the holiday season. You can serve a flavored creamer that fits in with virtually any food regimen. (Calories/tablespoon: 20 for Original, 30 for flavors.)

Learn more at GoodKarmaFoods.com. If you “like” Good Karma on Facebook, you can enter to win a nifty Technivorm Moccamaster Coffee Maker, a brewer for serious coffee lovers. We tried it at Williams-Sonoma and would like to win one ourselves.

The company also supports sustainable agriculture. Good karma, indeed!
  

If you’re like most people, you probably enjoy carrots. But have you tried their cousins, parsnips?

Parsnips look like large, pale yellow carrots (the flesh underneath is creamy white). When cooked, they have an even sweeter taste than carrots, delivering subtle notes of butterscotch, cardamom and honey.

Like carrots, parsnips are native to the Mediterranean. Early Romans ate them wild, then cultivated them. Food trivia: The original carrots were purple, not orange. Today’s ubiquitous orange carrot was bred in Holland in the late 16th century. You can find heirloom purple carrots at some farmers markets. A mutant strain called white carrots—the same pale yellow color as parsnips—is also grown.

In this video, the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, shows how incredibly easy it is to make a delicious (and healthy!) side of roasted carrots and parsnips. Make a double batch—they’re delicious hot or cold, not just at dinner but also with lunch or for a low-calorie snack.

You can add your own twists to this recipe, including fresh herbs or a drizzle of flavored olive oil before serving.

Find more of our favorite veggie recipes in our Vegetables Section.

There’s nothing quite like those tart, ruby-hued seeds that spill forth from their crimson shell, bursting with tang and brightening up your mouth like drops of sunshine.

Beyond healthy snacking and dazzling garnishes, there’s more versatility to this fruit than you may think.

It’s easy to add pizzazz to your dishes with pomegranate seeds. See how we’ve used them in:

 
Get the recipes/instructions for the 10 tips.

Find more of our favorite fruits and recipes in our Gourmet Fruit Section.

The best peppermint bark we’ve ever had.
Don’t miss it! Photo courtesy Enstrom.

Peppermint Bark from Enstrom Candies of Grand Junction, Colorado.

It’s a perfect blend of top-quality dark and white chocolate with crushed peppermint candy and chocolate cookie pieces. We admit to total addiction.

And we have to stock up on it, because it’s only made during the holiday season.

We promise you: Anyone you give a box to will tell you it’s the best peppermint bark they’ve ever had.

And they’ll pine for December 2012, when another box might come their way.

Enstrom Candies are certified kosher.

Get yours at The Nibble Gourmet Market—home to our very favorite treats.