Quick

Fiery kimchi gets a little sweetness from gochujang pepper paste.

"A crunchy, cheesy topping gives squash big flavor and texture." —Chris Morocco, associate food editor

Pair this summery side dish with grilled pork chops or flank steak, or chop and fold it into couscous for a light meal.

How do you make grilled corn taste even better? Douse it in flavorful herb butter.

This fantastic pesto combines the complex flavors of various herb flowers—use whatever you have on hand. After the herbs bloom but before they set seed, grab some blossoms and grind them up. You can use this pesto on pasta or bruschetta, but it also makes a great topping for fish or marinade for poultry, beef, or pork.

Believe it or not, watermelon and feta make a great pairing. Toss in some hot chili peppers and cilantro and you have a salad to delight everyone who tries it. Buy seedless watermelon for this—you won't be disappointed when you try it!

Served at LYFE Kitchen restaurant, this breakfast sandwich is perfect when you are on the run, and even better when enjoyed around the kitchen table with your family. Be sure to buy whole wheat muffins, a better source of complex carbs than the traditional English muffins.

Long before I discovered my love of sashimi, I fell in love with the viscous, sweet taste of teriyaki. With anywhere from 300 to 700mg of sodium per tablespoon, however, teriyaki chicken from the local takeout is now out of the question. So, to meet my cravings, I let go of the original dish and focused on finding a substitute with a similar color, thick coating, and unique flavor. The low-sodium answer lay in tamarind paste—a sweet and tart concentrate made from tamarind seed pods. It is popular in Indian, Middle Eastern, and East Asian cuisines, and can even be found in Worcestershire sauce. Its acidic properties help tenderize meat, and in Ayurvedic medicine it is said to have heart-protecting properties. Or in Western medicine speak, it may help lower bad cholesterol. While it is no teriyaki, this tamarind sauce sure makes a convincing look-alike. The savory sweetness of the tamarind will delight your palate. If you have any leftover herbs in your kitchen, like mint, cilantro, or even some green onion, dice and sprinkle them over the chicken at the end for some extra color and cool flavor. And to make a traditional bento presentation, serve with a slice of orange and crisp lettuce salad.

These gorgeously sweet and tangy, juicy and sticky tomatoes are fantastic served on top of a simple, saffron-infused risotto. You can also serve them as a complement to almost any other grilled or roasted veg, but I particularly like them piled on toast with a sprinkling of flaky sea salt on top.

Editor's note: Use this sauce to make Myron Mixon's Smoked Whiskey Wings . I have heard people eating barbecue at festivals say that "the sauce makes the barbecue." It's not true. The smoke makes the barbecue. The sauce is a finisher. It's what you put on your meat after it cooks to enhance its appeal. It can add a great punch, but I've had plenty of delicious barbecued meat with no sauce at all. I've been around barbecue sauces of different stripes all of my life. My family's sauce recipe, which my parents were just beginning to market when my father suddenly passed away, is what got me into cooking competitive barbecue in the first place. We have always preferred a hickory-style sauce, meant to closely evoke and complement the flavor of hickory-smoked meats. It's world famous and a secret recipe, so the only way you'll taste the original is to order it from me, but if you insist on not giving me your business, here's a reasonable approximation that is still damn delicious.

Aperol is similar to Campari but sweeter and less boozy. This recipe works with either one.