It’s mid-January. Do you remember what a just-picked tomato tastes like?

We do, but only because we’ve subscribed to Lufa Farms, which, incidentally, isn’t really a farm but a high-tech rooftop greenhouse across from Marché Central.

Every week, we pick up a large box of their delish locally grown vegetables ($30) at a pick-up location in our ‘hood. It is packed with tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, peppers and sometimes a few must-Google (yet totally delicious) specimens. The best part?

Everything was picked that day.

Eating in the winter just got a lot fresher. —Christine Laroche

www.lufa.com

Some celebrate Hannukah, others will use any excuse to eat the holiday’s traditional potato pancakes. But if the traditional fried latke is getting you down, we found a few variations to keep the fires burning for eight days and nights

Purple is the new black, so stylish cooks should try out these purple sweet potato latkes. Go international with these curried sweet potato versions. For the health-conscious we suggest this gluten-free recipe by Gluten Free Girl or add some zucchini for a little extra fibre. You can also go really irreverent with a recipe that incorporates bacon.

We promise we won’t tell the rabbi. —Jennifer Nachshen

We must admit, we’re completely obsessed with instagram. The photo-sharing iPhone app makes our amateur shots look as amazing as Ansel Adams’.

Now, to show-off even more we’re using Casetagram ($34.95) to create an iPhone case covered in a collage of our most artistic snaps. We chose one of their many templates (Le Corbusier), allowed the app to access our photos, and pieced together a picture of our life.

Now that’s picture perfect! —Jennifer Nachshen

www.casetagram.com

We don’t want to come across as a scrooge, but we find holiday window decorations tend to fall into three categories: Overly religious, sappily sentimental, or just plain ugly.

We love this combo by Stampin’ Up!, incorporating 27 red damask images on vinyl ($41.06) with a nice non-denominational message ($12.17).

Now we can wish everybody a happy holiday season without offending their spiritual beliefs or sense of style. —Jennifer Nachshen

www.stampinup.com

If you’re planning a holiday party, why not do a retro theme? We are celebrating the imminent return of Mad Men to our Winter TV viewing schedule, after all!

To guide you along, pick up Vintage Cocktails: Retro Recipes for the Home Mixologist ($14.56) by cultural historian Amanda Hallay, with sassy drawings by fashion illustrator, David Wolfe. Serve up some Pink Ladies, Gin Fizzes and Whisky Sours in these gorgeous Onyxflower coupes from Anthropologie (US $14). Throw in some foods on a stick and do the Watusi all night long.

But do draw the line at chain-smoking and office party affairs. And don’t be a Betty Draper. —Jennifer Nachshen

At www.amazon.ca

It’s funny how we’ll spend hours touring grocery stores in NYC, while breaking records for speed-shopping in Montreal. In fairness, there’s kind of a big difference between Dean & Deluca and the Super C.

Now Montrealers have their own gastronomic haven with Fou d’Ici, the new urban market for home chefs and take-out masters alike. Serious cooks can choose from mounds of fresh meat and produce, serious spices, and other hard-to-find ingredients, while the rest of us can pick up a Prêt-à-manger dinner created by executive chef, Daren Bergeron, and a cannoli by La Cornetteria and call it a day. —Jennifer Nachshen

Fou d’Ici, 360 de Maisonneuve W., Montreal, 514-600-3424, www.foudici.com

In college we readily dumped our faulty futon frames by the side of the road at the end of the semester. Now we have a storage space full of salvaged furniture just waiting for a new look.

Like an SPCA for settees, Deuxième Debut saves abandoned furniture from the landfill, giving chairs, tables, and armoires a second chance at life with a fresh coat of paint and some expert upholstering. Choose from a selection of ready-revamped pieces, or bring in your own near-death dinette for a makeover.

Sofa, so good. —Jennifer Nachshen

Deuxième Debut, 705 Laporte Ave., Montreal, 514-707-2365, www.deuxiemedebut.com (please call ahead)

I must admit to having little patience for home decor, preferring function over fashion for everything from sofas to sinks.

But to add a little va-voom to my room, I drew inspiration from Marc Jacobs and Maria Von Trapp, and colour-blocked My Favourite Things: shoes and books.

Supplies
Your favourite things (doesn’t have to be shoes and books)
A shelf (IKEA works nicely)

Method
1. Put shoes on shelf.
2. Colour coordinate book jackets in a way that would infuriate a librarian but please Marc Jacobs.
3. Pile books from largest to smallest (or smallest to largest, if you feel a little naughty).

Et voila! Fashion meets function meets fabulous.

—Jennifer Nachshen

There’s not much that we like more than sandwiches, unless it’s a multi-tasker of a machine that makes sandwiches crispy warm and oh-so-gooey inside.

De’Longhi ‘s new sleek and sexy space-saving sandwich godsend is their multi-purpose Panini Oven ($219.99). It’s a toaster oven (up to six slices at once!), regular oven, Panini press and non-stick grill for meat, fish and vegetables, all in one.

Handy, since like Carrie Bradshaw, our big oven is filled with shoes. —Jennifer Nachshen

www.delonghi.com

There are two kinds of people in the world: silly people who hate black licorice, and those of us cool kids who absolutely adore it.

As far as we’re concerned, the stronger the better, and the Italian-made Amarelli Liquirizia ($4) pure licorice drops really pack a punch. Packed in cute retro tins, the drops are made from pure licorice extract without any added ingredients (and that includes sugar).

For licorice lovers only. —Jennifer Nachshen

At Vielle Europe, 3855 St-Laurent Blvd., Montreal, 514-842-5773.