TAHOE/TRUCKEE - I know. First of all - what do they really know about winter in Morocco? Secondly, what is a salad recipe doing in a recipe column, in a newspaper published smack in the middle of a pretty healthy (can you say 18-below?) Sierra winter?

Salads and winter traditionally go together like, I don't know, an Obama and an NRA tie clip (or just clip). "Winter salad" is an oxymoron only to be surpassed by the boneless rib - no such thing.

This Moroccan salad is packed with scents and flavors perfectly suited for cold weather craving, and takes advantage of ingredients still flourishing in our Sub Zero - fridges, not temperatures. I am not kidding, those carrots have lasted since, like, Thanksgiving.

Plus, something about this salad is down-right Fez-tive (Get it? Moroccans wear fezzes). From the first bite I was transported to the colorful alleys of Casablanca (except in black and white) and couldn't help but say, "Play it again Garee!" It's her recipe.

Dressing ingredients:

1 tbls. cumin seeds

1/3 cup olive oil

3 tbls. fresh lemon juice

1 tbls. honey

1/2 tsp. fine sea salt, plus a little more to taste

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Preparation:

Toast cumin seeds in a dry skill+et over medium heat for a minute or two, until lightly browned.

Let cool and grind to a powder with a mortar and pestle or in a small bowl using the back of a large spoon. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, salt and cayenne pepper. Set aside.

Salad ingredients:

10 ounces carrots, shredded, or sliced super, super thin, using a food processor or mandolin.

One 15-ounce can cooked garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed.

2/3 cups dried dates, cut into garbanzo bean-sized pieces.

1/3 cup sliced toasted almonds

Preparation:

Toss all together EXCEPT ALMONDS with dressing until evenly coated. Refrigerate and remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving. Toss in almonds just before serving. Great with roasted chicken (about 1 1/2 cups) mixed in for a more substantial meal.