Cherry Tomato

Once separated from the ribs, the pale green leaves of the under-appreciated Napa cabbage are delicate and mild. Tossed with a lemony dressing, creamy avocado, and tiny tomatoes, they make a great cold-weather salad.

Shake up your standard skewer with a smoky, tangy marinade created by Elissa Meadow, chef-owner of Solar Harvest in Beverly Hills, California. This recipe fills 40 percent of your daily potassium needs and supplies vitamins C and B6, as well.

Soft 00 flour (available at Italian markets) produces a more tender pasta, but all purpose flour works well, too.

Protein-packed lean shrimp really satisfies.

The beauty of this recipe is that each type of vegetable is cooked on its own skewer for even grilling. The tangy vinaigrette brings out the natural sweetness in the fresh summer vegetables.

The turbot is roasted on a thin cake of overlapping potato slices and then sauced with a simple pan sauce, garnished with tomatoes and black olives. Turbot is rarely available in the United States, but another flatfish such as a fluke or flounder makes a good substitute. You will need a mandoline or other vegetable slicer to slide the potatoes very thin. Ovenproof nonstick frying pans work best here, so the potato cakes don't stick, but if necessary you can use other 8-inch frying pans or cake pans; line them with rounds of parchment paper.

Pasta, cheese, and a few summer vegetables make a quick and easy main course.

Brandi Neuwirth of Cary, North Carolina, writes: "My family and I moved here from Los Angeles last year, and my new surroundings have really influenced my cooking. There's a great farmers' market nearby where I get lots of local ingredients like tomatoes, squash, and, of course, okra. The produce there inspired me to create this dish, which is a real taste of the South." Tossing the okra in cornmeal before frying creates a crisp coating, adding texture to this colorful, summery dish.

This version of the Italian classic is an irresistible mix of crusty-chewy bread cubes and colorful roasted vegetables, all bathed in a lusty balsamic vinaigrette. Be sure to use a good-quality French-style baguette, as a lesser bread won't keep its texture.

It's healthy, tasty and, yes, a full meal. This fiber-packed (12 whole grams — almost half your daily dose!), meal-sized salad comes from Gabrielle Hamilton, chef and owner of Prune, a tiny New York City restaurant that's wowing diners with natural, wholesome food that tastes delicious. Bonus for you home cooks: This dish is also quick to fix. Just chop, toss, then chow.

Surprise! A heavyweight makes a lightweight pizza. This healthy pizza comes from boxing champ George Foreman, the master behind the Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine (don't tell us you haven't seen the infomercials!) and author of the new George Foreman's Big Book of Grilling, Barbecue & Rotisserie (Simon & Schuster). Why grill? "It produces great-tasting healthy food, and it's easy," Foreman says.

Comfort food at its healthiest. Serve this colorful one-dish meal over couscous or rice. Garnish with fresh basil.

Everything about this dish is light, clean, vibrant, and harmonious, with the wonderful taste of corn perhaps taking center stage. The corn's refined sweetness is marvelously juxtaposed with the elegant sour flavor in the cheese. Mushrooms provide an earthiness, and spinach leaves cut through all the elements to insure a clean, bright taste. A playful salad featuring buttery lettuces, tomato pieces, and Rawmesan adds even greater depth on the palate. Here, both the flavor and textural variety are extraordinary.

This cut of meat yields a juicy roast with no fuss. And the spicy parsley sauce is tasty enough to keep some on hand for chicken, fish, or pasta.

Kebabs are not only fun to eat, they also save time: It takes less than 10 minutes for these lamb cubes to cook up medium-rare. The marinade, made with fresh thyme and rosemary, infuses both the meat and the vegetables with south-of-France flavor.

In this easy and hugely satisfying pasta dish, arugula is transformed from peppery leaf into powerhouse pesto.

These little appetizer pizzas are perfect finger food.