Cooking Light magazine rings in the new year with news that all the recipes in its January/February issue, and all year, will be scannable, making it the first magazine brand to do this. Using the Digimarc Discover app, a free download on the iTunes App Store and Google Play, consumers can use their smartphones to scan recipe photos to be automatically connected to the recipe page on a sister site, MyRecipes.com. Once there, they can save it to their recipe file, share favorites, organize menus and make grocery lists. The issue is on newsstands now.

A warmer, greener winter market

Starting this month, Bachman's is partnering with the Fulton and Kingfield farmers markets to host "Fresh From the Freeze: Winter Farmers Market" inside Bachman's Lyndale Garden Center, 6010 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls. Consumers can purchase fresh, locally grown and locally produced foods, crafts, clothing and gift items displayed amid the -- gasp! -- humidity of a greenhouse environment. There also will some entertainment, along with wine, hard cider and beer to purchase. Plans are to add local beers for tasting, and food trucks. The first two markets are open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 26 and Feb. 23.

Raisin' raisins' profile Maybe 2013 is the year for raisins to have their moment. The California Raisin Marketing Board has assembled a panel of bloggers across the country who will be experimenting with and, yes, promoting using raisins throughout menus. The nine blogs can be accessed through www.calraisins.org, and the site also offers lots of recipes, and the chance to enter its "America's best raisin bread" contest.

Healthier helpers Off-the-shelf dinner mixes continue to focus on greater health and nutrition as well as variety. Cooksimple, first founded as the Healthy Pantry, was founded on the idea that people will eat healthier if doing so is tasty, easy and accessible. It's announced some new varieties, a white bean chili with chia seeds and bell peppers, for a boost of protein and fiber, and a skillet lasagna recipe with corn and quinoa pasta for a gluten-free take on Italian. Its new website, www.cooksimplemeals.com, also offers alternative ways to use the dinner mixes, such as turning the lasagne into a soup. The site also offers a store locator.

KIM ODE