Are you a seasonal hot beverage drinker like I am?

I ask this because here we are past the halfway mark of April and I'm still drinking hot tea. This is late for me. I usually stop drinking hot tea around the start of April and start drinking diet soda and iced tea (I don't drink coffee). The weather has been cold and rainy/snowy this month, so my tea drinking has stayed at the same level it was in January. Which I like, of course, but it also worries me because I'd rather switch to drinks like diet soda that won't give me as much daily sugar intake (yeah, I know, I could drink my tea with less sugar or Splenda, but where's the fun in that?). As for hot chocolate, well, that's a fall/winter thing and I stopped that weeks ago.

So readers, are you seasonal hot and cold beverage drinkers too? I remember my mom used to drink hot coffee in the hot summer months too because she read somewhere it was good for you or cooled you down in some way I don't quite understand, but science was never my best subject in school.

When confronted with winter storms, grocery store owners, managers and employees note an interesting phenomenon dubbed the "squirrel effect." The term applies to the fact that when confronted with any sort of disaster or potential disaster, shoppers come into the store and hoard whatever they can lay their hands on, much like squirrels stocking food away for the winter. The same reaction happens when natural disasters - hurricanes, tornadoes, etc - seem to be on the horizon, as well as directly after a disaster occurs.

At one point in time, "stocking up" meant grabbing kitchen staples, water and canned goods. Bread, milk and bananas are all popular items. But these days the definition of a staple food has changed somewhat and more shoppers are forsaking the component parts for the whole. Stores in the northern part of the country, for example, sold out of pizzas and other frozen goods, as well as sodas. Rental videos/dvd were also hot items, with people anticipating that a lot of time might be spent indoors while snow fell outside.

Here in California, I do have an earthquake supply kit (no frozen pizza in that, though), but there aren't many disastrous occasions to anticipate unless you count traffic. What do you - or would you - stock up on if you were to squirrel away some supplies in the face of a storm?

So today is not only Valentine's Day, it's also a great day for hot chocolate (for much of the country, anyway...you stay classy San Diego). So let's combine the two and see what we get.

And that would be Hot Chocolate Cones! They're cocoa, mini marshmallows, mini chocolate chips, and a red gum drop placed inside cone-shaped cellophane wrappers. Makes a cool gift:

3/4 cup cocoa mix
two 6" x 12" cone-shaped cellophane bags
2 clear rubberbands
scissors
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
3/4 cup mini marshmallows
1 large red gumdrop

Have you ever had a food or drink item that hit the spot perfectly? Something that was the perfect thing at the perfect time? I had that yesterday.

For some reason I decided to take the train into Boston yesterday and walk around in 9 degree weather (and it was windy so the wind chill blah blah blah). It was, um, really cold, and by the end of the day my feet were killing me and my face, ears, and lungs had gotten a workout from the weather. And that's when I saw the Dunkin' Donuts at the train station when I arrived for my train. I thought to myself, "I gotta have a hot chocolate." I got a medium, and it was one of the best hot chocolates I've ever had. It was the true definition of "hitting the spot." It was quite an enjoyable train ride home.

The hot chocolate has an almost chocolate/vanilla taste. When you were a kid did you ever get a Hoodsie (that's chocolate and vanilla ice cream for you folks who haven't had one) and mix the two together so they were one and then eat it? That's what it tasted like, only hot. More chocolate for sure, but with a lighter flavor in the background And it's really creamy. I like it.

• It's winter. Eat some stew.
• A look at five different Boston area bakeries.
• The Plonk of the Month? New wave Spanish reds.
• We've been talking a lot about hot chocolate/cocoa this week, now the Globe taste tests a bunch.
• Anthony Bourdain and Mario Batali are raving about a new book about Marco Pierre White.
• Speaking of books, how many cookbooks do you own?
• This week's recipes: Double-Vanilla Sour Cream Pound Cake; Maani Gyros; and Italian-American Meatballs.

Is this the same as their Chocolate Sensation that was introduced a few years ago? I saw this on the shelf and didn't find the other stuff, so I'm wondering if they've replaced that Chocolate Sensation with dark chocolate, which seems to be all the rage now.

I like it. It tastes a little different than other dark hot cocoas are on the market, the more expensive brands. This one actually tastes like they took big hunks of dark chocolate and melted them in hot liquid. That's not an insult, by the way, I like the way this tastes.

It's also a hot chocolate that isn't ruined if you add a bit of milk, even though it already has milk in it and you just add water. I've followed the instructions to a T (6 oz of hot water for each packet), so I'm not sure what happens if you have a big mug and add more hot water than that.

Update: Hmmm...I found this for sale on Amazon, and even though it says "Dark Chocolate Sensation," it shows the old "Chocolate Sensation" box. Am I drinking the old stuff under a new name? Have my taste buds been deceived?

• Charles Perry barbecues, but keeps it seasonal with Onion Burgers and Winter Roast Pork with Basil Pomegranate Sauce.
• Summer salads can be transformed into winter wonders with a few tweaks: Insalata Pontormo (Warm salad with pancetta and eggs), Winter Caprese, and Fennel, green apple and watercress salad.
• Sunny carrots are perfectly sweet for: Carrot-thyme timbales, Carrot-cashew salad, and Carrots with chive cream.
• SIV gives a half star (½*) to Scarboni, a new steakhouse near 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica.
• Winterizing isn't just for your windows; make margaritas work in January.
  

Fall and winter are my favorite seasons, and one of the reasons is because I love the idea of sitting on my couch, in front of a roaring fire, reading, while cupping a hot drink in my hand. OK, so I don't have a fireplace, so it's usually the television. But still, a cold night and a warm drink is something I cherish.

That drink is usually a hot cup of tea. I've never been big on hot alcoholic drinks. Not because I don't like them, but because I can't be bothered with making something hot. But with the weather turning cold (finally!), the recipe after the jump, The Kathy Madison, is something I'll try, even though I'm not a big bourbon fan. Maybe the apple cider and ginger will overpower it enough for me.

When winter comes around, many of us head for the mountains to enjoy some winter sports, like skiing, snowboarding and building snowmen. All of those things seem to burn so many calories that there is virtually no guilt in indulging in a big mug of hot chocolate and a hot, freshly baked goodie in front of the fire afterwards. The hot chocolate is no problem, but whether you live at a high elevation or just visit, you know that cooking up there is different that cooking at sea level. It means longer cooking and boiling times for most foods, and can completely change the chemistry of cakes, cookies and other baked items. Instead of tinkering with cookbooks designed to work at sea level (most are), a book like Pie in the Sky: Successful Baking at High Altitudes can really be a lifesaver if you're going to do some high elevation baking.

With the exception of a few bad storms, this has been a fairly mild winter for most of the US and Canada. The warmer temperatures mean fewer snow days, lighter jackets and an early start to maple syrup season.

The season typically begins in early spring when it is still below freezing at night but slightly warmer (40F or higher) during the day. The reason for the time frame is that the sap levels are at the peak at that point in the year and the daytime temperatures allow it to flow more freely from the tapped trees. Mild winters produce the same effects, although the sugars in the sap are not as intensely concentrated as they will be later in the year. One of the primary reasons that a farmer might begin to harvest sap early, relying on a processes to concentrate the sugars in the sap, is to stay in business, although some traditionalists will turn up their noses at the practice.

'Some people say it isn't natural to make a hole in a tree during the winter, but it is also unnatural to tap trees during the spring,' said one Canadian farmer, noting that only a small portion of the sap is taken and that the trees heal rather quickly and that "only producers who've never tried making syrup in winter would criticize the practice."

Ice cream in the winter - why not? It's warm indoors, so there is no reason not to indulge in a frozen treat. This Peppermint Ice Cream was made by Elise, of Simply Recipes. She made the ice cream base herself and flavored it with some peppermint extract before folding in crushed up candy canes. The advantage, as Elise points out, to making the ice cream base yourself is not just in the fact that you can flavor it in any way you see fit, but that you know exactly what you are getting and aren't limited to what you can buy at the store. For example, there are no emulsifiers or preservatives in homemade ice cream, so even though it is very rich and contains a generous number of egg yolks that provide the "divinely creamy" texture, you can still feel good about eating it.

I suspect that this ice cream would also make fantastic ice cream sandwiches if softened and spread in between two chocolate chip cookies.

For a foodie, especially a Slashfoodie, one of the best things about winter is that it signifies a changing of the guard, so to speak, when it comes to produce. Apples, pears and citrus replace the berries and melons of summer, opening up a whole new season of possibilities. Capogiro Gelato expresses all these possibilities with their seasonally changing menu, now geared up for winter. I was fortunate enough to sample some of the flavors from their summer line earlier this year and, this week, had the opportunity to indulge in a few of their winter offerings, as well.

While they still have their classic Italian and chocolate flavors available, Capogiro's holiday table menu is extensive, including Apple Cider with Clove Sorbetto, Castagne (Chestnut) Gelato, Cannella di Saigon (Cinnamon) and Melograno (Pomegranate). The flavors I tried were Zucca (Lancaster County Neck Pumpkin), Apple Cider with Clove, Sweet Potato with Pecan Praline, Meyer Lemon with Vodka, Moro (Blood Orange) and Pure King Leo Stracciatella.

If you don't know who Delia Smith is, I'm willing to bet that you're probably not British. She is a woman worth knowing, though. She is the best-selling cookbook author in the UK and is well known for her skill at teaching basic cooking techniques and recipes, as well as making complex recipes seem basic. She uses shortcuts where and when they are appropriate, but can also turn out a detailed, gourmet meal when called upon. Basically, she is the ideal representation of the home cook and has, in some circles, earned herself the nickname "Saint Delia" (mostly delivered in an affectionate sort of way) and has also been likened to Julia Child.

Getting back to the book at hand, Delia Smith's Winter Collection: 140 Recipes for Winter is designed just for the season, so in it you'll find warming, seasonal and very accessible dishes to make until spring arrives. It has lots of British recipes, spiked with flavors from around the world that keep the recipes from getting boring, and the author's warm, helpful voice will guide you easily through every recipe.

For a taste of Delia's December cooking, you can check out her menu of the month online for a few recipes.