Green Bean

"As a kid, I'd accompany my mother to her job at the racetrack, where she would lead the horses out to the starting gate," writes Michael Hunter of Studio City, California. "Eventually I was helping out in the stalls, and when I got older, I became a jockey. My mother was also the person who, in a roundabout way, inspired my other passion: cooking. I'd come home from school, and she would have prepared something from a box or can. I didn't always like what was on the dinner table, so one day I asked her to buy me a cookbook. Pretty soon I was making dinner for us almost every night. Now, after seventeen years of racing horses and cooking for family and friends, I'm making the jump to professional cooking." These beans are particularly delicious with Michael's Sugar-Seared Salmon with Cream Sauce.

"Even in the spring it can be very chilly here in New England," saysMichelle M. Littlefield of Feeding Hills, Massachusetts. "My mom and I like to prepare this soup on weekends — and our entire family loves to warm up with a bowl of it."

Ribollita In leaner times, this hearty soup provided a delicious way for Tuscans to use their leftovers: Ribollita means "reboiled," and the soup was always eaten two days in a row. Plus, it was poured into the bowl over a slice of stale bread, which we recommend that you do, too. Begin making it two days ahead, and don't leave out the final drizzle of olive oil.

Based on the classic Thai dish called larb, this pretty appetizer is easy to put together.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Turmeric add color and chilies add heat to this superb side dish. Mound it in the middle of the Vegetable Stir-fry.

This reduced-fat version hits all the flavor notes of the original Caeser.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 1 hr.

A handsomely arranged combination salad can be the solution for what to serve at an informal spur-of-the-moment meal. The trick is to toss all of the elements separately in vinaigrette, letting some marinate for 10 to 20 minutes if they need to take on flavor. Then when you arrange your work of art, each part of it is perfectly seasoned. Here is a hearty meatless combination.

Chinese long beans cut into smaller lengths also work well in this recipe.