Quick

Every spring people make a hullabaloo about ramps, the wild leeks that grow in the forests of the East Coast, for good reason: they're wonderful, with a garlic-heavy leek flavor and a subtle sweetness. I pickle the ramps, put them in just about everything we eat (they're particularly great in omelets), and give them away by the armload. This pasta is a simple way to highlight their flavor.

Garlic scapes are the soft, lime-green-colored stems and unopened flower buds of hard-neck garlic varieties. Scapes have a mild garlic flavor and a slight sweetness, which makes them a prized addition in the kitchen. You can find them in the early summer and midfall at farmers' markets. If you grow your own garlic (which is easy), trim the scapes off before their flowers open. This forces the plant to focus on bulb production and increases the size of the garlic cloves. My Aunt Denise introduced me to the idea of garlic-scape pesto. Here I use it to sauce pasta; you can also spread it on crostini or use as a pungent dip for crunchy vegetables. If all you have are salted pistachios, forgo the salt in the recipe and add salt to taste at the end.

This authentic taqueria-style guac brings the classic dip back to the basics: avocado, lime, cilantro, salt, and—surprise—just a little bit of water to smooth things out.

The keys to this dish? Use as many types of squash as you can, and heat the oil in the skillet until it's almost smoking.

Use Mexican adobo, a vinegary chile paste, to season any protein. For this recipe, the shrimp is chopped, so there's no need to splurge on a larger size.

A few simple spices are all you need to transform ground pork into a fantastic taco filling.

Make a batch of these easy, fast pickled red onions, and use them the whole week (or two) on everything you’re eating.

Ask your butcher for thinly sliced cross-cut short ribs, a.k.a. flanken or Korean style. If you can't find them, flank steak is a good substitute.

You can use any white flaky fish in this versatile—and quick—dish.

Be gentle when washing new potatoes; their tender skins scrub off easily.

"Nobody thinks to cook cucumbers, but I treat them as I would any vegetable"

The classic Middle Eastern salad shifts from bulgur wheat to quinoa. The tiny nutritional powerhouse is loaded with protein, making this dish both a delicious vegetarian main course and a summer-suitable side.

This classic Mexican topping can be made with or without jalapeños. Keep in mind that adding the seeds ups the heat.

Portland-based Salt & Straw adds a drop of vinegar and a hint of pepper to balance the sweetness in this strawberry shake, plus a splash of rum to make it deliciously complex in flavor. If you're making this for non-drinkers, just omit the booze.

Small, sweet wild Maine shrimp are sold frozen from brownetrading.com when not in season. You can also substitute other shrimp cut into 1/2" pieces. This recipe makes extra horseradish mayo. Put it out to spread on other sandwiches.