Enjoying the clear January sky, bright winter sunshine streaming through my windows, pure sparkling landscape (which is so like the beautiful snow globe I received for Christmas) and writing in my journal. Last night I watched Lost in The Taiga, a documentary recommended to me by Sarah about a family of Old Believers in Russia who escaped to the wilderness during the Stalin years. The last surviving family member, Agalfia, still lives there by herself. She is seventy. I was especially struck by something one of the young Russian forest workers said in the film: "When you meet a person here, you are happy because you feel you can help them. In the past, hunters would always leave firewood, matches, and something to eat in their cabins. It's the taiga way. There are no bad people in the taiga. Most bad people are where a lot of other people are. They can steal there. But out here, they would not survive. Taiga cleanses you. This place makes you reflect on your actions. It cleanses your soul."

Winter Citrus Salad
To mixed greens (I used leaf lettuce and raddichio) add shredded carrot, minced red onion and celery to taste.
Toast sliced almonds in a saute pan with a couple of tablespoons of sugar until sugar is melted. Cool.
Top with mandarin orange slices, sugared almonds, and dressing.

For the dressing: mix red wine vinegar, orange juice, oil, salt and dried basil to taste. (Standard ratio is 2/3 oil to 1/3 vinegar/juice.)