No matter the time of year, we love a good obituary. Somehow, though, it is easier to consider a person's passing when the air is cold and the sky is dark and nothing is alive outside. The obit doesn't have to be gorgeously written, even; it can just be about a pretty excellent person the world has lost. Sometimes, the person who died isn't that remarkable, but the writer is an elegant eulogizer, and that's what makes it worth reading.

In the case of Vincent Gruppuso, the founder of Kozy Shack pudding, it's the former: The N.Y. Times obituary is simple, but worth reading, we think, so here is a link to it. After reading it, we thought about all the products and brands close to our hearts, and wondered who dreamed them up.

Take Vosges' Mo's Bacon Bar, for instance. Whose idea was this? Can a quick Google search turn up this factoid? It is, as the Dallas News says, "chocolate with an oink." Are you curious about "the siren call of chocolate, bacon and salt," friends? Surely some of you are not curious at all. Given people's strong feelings on bacon, though, we are betting some will read this with great interest. By the way, to answer our own question from above, there is, in fact, information at the Vosges' chocolate company's Web page about the products' creator.

There are a couple of good inventions The Boston Globe spotted for us -- one made by an enterprising fellow and the other one by Mother Nature. The first is "wildly delicious" Southwest Cheddar Chipotle and White Cheddar and Black Peppercorn popcorn from Dale and Thomas Popcorn. The creator of these treats offers sweet varieties as well. The second "invention" is citron honey, which "can relieve the long-lasting sniffles and sore throat that's going around" (this is a big claim -- one Hot Plates will be sure to put to the test).  You can get citron honey at selected Trader Joe's stores or an Asian grocery store.

Speaking of natural treats, there are bits on Meyer lemons and blood oranges this week. In the funny and cute "1000 Things to Do With a Meyer Lemon," the L.A. Times actually delivers -- so buy some, find a friend and hang around the kitchen drinking wine and making things with Meyer lemons. You'll run out of wine before you're through with the list.

It is blood orange season, as we learned in last week's Hot Plates, and the L.A. Times talks about this citrus that's likely to start showing up on more food and drink menus now. "It wasn't so long ago that you practically had to travel to Sicily to find them," by the way, and the oranges "get their unusual berried flavor from the same anthocyanin pigment that gives them their vivid color."

The meatiest articles in Wednesday's food pages were not about snacks or treats, though. Julia Moskin of The N.Y. Times reported on how far chefs will go "to display their empathy and respect for the animals they cook" -- starting off the piece by telling us Jamie Oliver killed a chicken on TV last week. Maybe it begins with that dark levity, but the piece tackles weighty questions of morals and ethics beyond the question of whether it is OK to eat animals. Does a happy animal taste better on the plate? Get ready to think about it.

Jennifer 8. Lee, the N.Y. Times reporter famous for her numeric middle initial, does an investigative piece on fortune cookies. Hot Plates is a fool for these things; we would open a bucketful if we could after a giant, satisfying meal at Eat First in D.C.'s Chinatown or Grand Sichuan in New York (our two favorites). So we were surprised to learn fortune cookies are actually Japanese. It's a longie, so settle in when you are ready to read it. Lee has a forthcoming book on the topic, for those who can't get enough of her cookie detective work.

The Washington Post and The New York Times both did stories on the "greening" of the House of Representatives' cafeteria on Capitol Hill, which entailed an overhaul. Both pieces discuss how the changes, which are part of House speaker Nancy Pelosi's Green the Capitol project, are causing a ruckus in the chattering class. One of the non-food-related switches: "Plates, cutlery, cups -- everything except the soup and coffee lids -- is compostable and turned to pulp on-site." These are not a hit with staffers, who say the stuff is too flimsy. Can anything -- even something supposedly good -- happen in Washington, though, without scowling scrutiny?

Enjoy the snow this afternoon, readers, and check back in with us for a separate drinks edition of Hot Plates.