It's alive

Katalyst Kombucha , produced in Western Massachusetts but with roots in Asia, is a tangy, lightly carbonated drink that combines a culture of yeast and bacteria with organic green and black teas, spring water, and cane juice. The kombucha culture has origins in the Manchuria of centuries ago and, with its abundance ofB vitamins and probiotics, is held to have a detoxifying effect on the liver and bloodstream. The Katalyst company calls its product "The Living Elixir." Cofounder Will Savitri says it's best served chilled and is meant to be consumed in smallish portions, like a traditional cup of tea. The Greenfield-based business makes an unflavored, or Pure Essence, line along with two flavored varieties: ginger and the irresistibly named schizandraberry(a traditional Chinese-medicine herb grown in Whately). It's sold in health food and grocery stores in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and New York in half-gallon glass jugs for about $15 and 6.3-ounce bottles for about $2.50. KatalystKombucha ( katalystkombucha.com) is available locally at Harvest Co-op in Jamaica Plain; Cambridge Naturals and Fresh Pond Whole Foods Market in Cambridge; Debra's NaturalGourmet in Concord; and Simply Enough Natural Foods inWestborough. -- ERICA NOONAN

A cool addition to a winter menu

A good winter salad is a blessed reminder that there's more to cold-weather eating than casseroles and stews. At The Independent in Union Square, Somerville, you can offset hearty dishes like raclette or beef stew with a duck-and-endive salad ($10, above). Shreds of rich duck confit and pert-sweet pomegranate seeds are ideal foils for spears of Belgian endive, a slender cousin to chicory with a pleasant crunch and a bitter edge. This salad might not ward off the chill, but your palate will welcome its bracing, wintry flavors. The Independent Bar & Restaurant, 75 Union Square , Somerville, 617-440-6022 . -- LEIGH BELANGER

Get a handle on it

It shreds! It slices! It grates! Cuisinart'sPrepExpress Handheld Food Processor won't replace your regular processor or a sharp chef's knife or even a good old Mouli grater, but it can come in handy for medium-size jobs. The electric contraption ($99.95) comes with three drums -- for grating, shredding, and slicing -- that are a cinch to maneuver in and out of the machine. The feed tube, however, is rather narrow, so foods have to be cut down to size. The slicing drum produced paper-thin slices of apple, carrot, and cabbage as well as thin strips of onion and bell pepper. Shredding zucchini, carrots, and cheddar cheese was easy. The food shoots out of the food chamber; you can direct it into a bowl or skillet or onto a cutting board. While the grating drum did a fine job grating Parmesan and grinding pistachios, not every crumb made it into the bowl. Beware of fine particles that take flight. Appliance junkies will want to add this tool to their collection. Depending on what's for dinner, you may actually have fun prepping the ingredients. Available at Williams-Sonoma stores (see locations at williams-sonoma.com ). -- LISA ZWIRN

Freshly picked . . . from the freezer

This is a frozen apple pie with integrity. The apples are organic, the whole-wheat flour is organic, the dairy is rBST -hormone-free, there is no corn syrup, no GMOs -- actually, the ingredients are pretty much what you would use if you were baking at home. The pie comes from Amy's Kitchen in Santa Rosa, Calif., a family business that started making vegetable potpies in 1987 and is still owned by its founders Rachel and Andy Berliner , both strict vegetarians. For the apple pie, apples are tossed with honey, sprinkled with cinnamon, and then baked in a buttery crimped-edge crust. At home, after about an hour in the oven or five minutes in the microwave, the pie is ready to eat. Sweet and overflowing with fruit, it seems more snack than dessert and is wholesome enough to eat for breakfast. Amy's apple pies are available at Whole Foods Market, Wild Oats Natural Marketplace, and Roche Bros. Supermarkets. -- JONATHAN LEVITT