Appetizers

Grilled Eggplant Salsa

Nifer — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:50:25 +0000

In this eggplant salsa recipe, eggplants, shallots and garlic are grilled, then mashed together and seasoned with minced chile and fish sauce.

Strawberry & Blue Cheese Bruschetta

Nifer — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 18:30:47 +0000

Strawberry & Blue Cheese Bruschetta

In this healthy bruschetta recipe, the big, bold, salty, tangy flavor of blue cheese makes an unexpected but utterly delicious match with sweet juicy strawberries. This bruschetta recipe makes a quick, easy appetizer and is so pretty topped with chopped green chives.

Olive & Goat Cheese Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

Nifer — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 18:03:32 +0000

Olive & Goat Cheese Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

This olive-and-goat-cheese-stuffed cherry tomato recipe makes a great pop-in-your-mouth appetizer. Scooping out the insides to stuff the tomato can be a little tricky without the right tool—a 1/4-teaspoon measuring spoon works very well for the job.

Bacon, Tomato & Farro Salad

Nifer — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:37:42 +0000

Bacon, Tomato & Farro Salad

We love farro, a high-fiber whole grain, because it cooks in about 15 minutes and has an amazing toothsome texture perfect for grain salads. In this healthy farro salad recipe we combine it with smoky bacon, sweet cherry tomatoes and fresh basil for an easy side dish or light lunch. Look for farro at natural-foods stores and gourmet food markets.

Arugula & Feta Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette

Nifer — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:26:26 +0000

Arugula & Feta Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette

This fresh arugula and feta salad recipe is dressed with a tangy strawberry vinaigrette made from a base of fresh pureed strawberries. If you can't find the sweetest strawberries, don’t worry—strawberries with a little more pucker are wonderfully suited to salads, salad dressings and vinaigrette recipes, as we use them here.

Strawberry Chile Martini

Nifer — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:47:17 +0000

Strawberry Chile Martini

This beautiful strawberry martini cocktail recipe is an irresistible combination of sweet and spicy. Strawberries vary in sweetness and jalapeño chiles vary in heat, so once you’ve made this cocktail, take a sip and adjust to your taste.

Sunrise Bellini

Nifer — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:46:47 +0000

Sunrise Bellini

This slightly tart fruity Bellini recipe will zing you awake. It’s the prettiest color imaginable and it makes a brunch instantly fun! You can serve the Bellinis in champagne flutes or in simple Mason jars—be creative!

Vegetarian Thai Red Curry

Erin McCormick — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:40:26 +0000

Vegetarian Thai Red Curry

This flavorful vegetarian Thai red curry recipe matches sweet potatoes with fresh dandelion greens and asparagus, though you can substitute cauliflower florets, cubed Asian eggplant, squash or carrots. If you’re using cauliflower or eggplant, add them earlier, when the potato is only partially cooked, as they will take longer to cook than asparagus. Classic Thai red curry is flavored with lime leaves and Thai basil. If you find them, use them, but even without them the vegetable curry will still be a knockout.

Spiced Pistachios

Erin McCormick — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:42:54 +0000

Spiced Pistachios

Chinese five-spice powder is a blend of cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, star anise and Szechuan peppercorns; it adds subtle flavor to these pistachios. Look for it in the spice section at the market or with other Asian ingredients. Omit the added salt if you use salted pistachios.

Quinoa Peanut Soup (Sopa de Mani)

Sarah Hoff — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 21:07:10 +0000

Quinoa Peanut Soup (Sopa de Mani)

This spicy vegetable, quinoa and peanut soup recipe is a modern take on a traditional Bolivian soup recipe called Sopa de Mani. Serve this healthy quinoa soup recipe as a starter or make it a heartier meal by adding diced cooked chicken or turkey breast to the soup.

Chipotle-Cheddar Broiled Avocado Halves

Sarah Hoff — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 20:23:59 +0000

Chipotle-Cheddar Broiled Avocado Halves

In this avocado side-dish recipe, zesty avocado halves are topped with melted Cheddar cheese and broiled until golden brown. You can serve these healthy avocado halves as a side dish with grilled chicken or steak.

Roasted Garlic & Asparagus Salad

Sarah Hoff — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 17:17:22 +0000

Roasted Garlic & Asparagus Salad

The dressing for this roasted asparagus salad recipe uses fresh garlic scapes—available in spring from farmers’ markets or gardeners. Use chopped fresh garlic in the dressing if you can’t find garlic scapes.

Tonnato Dip

Sarah Hoff — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 17:24:20 +0000

Tonnato Dip

This dip recipe is inspired by “vitello tonnato,” a classic Italian dish in which veal is served with a creamy tuna (tonnato) sauce. With this recipe, we riffed on classic tonnato sauce to create a dip for crunchy vegetables. Or you can try using this dip as tonnato sauce by tossing it with pasta. The egg yolk in this recipe is not cooked, but you can use a hard-boiled egg yolk instead or a yolk from a pasteurized-in-the-shell egg. This recipe makes more Cream Sauce without the Cream than you’ll need for the dip. Refrigerate or freeze the extra sauce and use it in place of heavy cream in any sauce or soup that calls for cream.

Grapefruit Rounds with Halloumi Cheese

Sarah Hoff — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 17:08:41 +0000

Grapefruit Rounds with Halloumi Cheese

In this beautiful grapefruit salad recipe we pair the salty flavor of halloumi cheese with sweet-tart ruby grapefruit and aromatic mint. Halloumi cheese has a texture similar to mozzarella, but it browns rather than melts when it is heated. Look for halloumi in tubs or airtight packs near other imported cheese in large supermarkets.

Grapefruit, Hearts of Palm & Shrimp Salad

Sarah Hoff — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 16:58:57 +0000

Grapefruit, Hearts of Palm & Shrimp Salad

Serve this grapefruit, hearts of palm and shrimp salad for lunch or as an appetizer. This shrimp salad recipe is low in calories, light and satisfying. Hearts of palm are the tender inner stem of certain species of palm trees, with a flavor similar to artichokes. Find them near other canned vegetables.