Garlic

Use this versatile sauce as a dip for crudités, a dressing for cold fish or chicken, and as a substitute for mayonnaise. Tofu makes it virtually fat-free.

(Salade Verte à la Vinaigrette) This is a basic recipe, one that should be part of every culinary repertoire. On the farm it is an everyday salad that changes according to the season, depending on what greens are fresh in the garden. In winter I am a slave to escarole, which I occasionally combine with Belgian endive. In spring and summer I mix greens, using green or red oak-leaf, mesclun (a fragrant mix of young greens), arugula, and fresh herbs.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

My grandmother made a great Friday night dinner in her two-story limestone in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. She might as well have run a restaurant. There was lots and lots and lots of stuff—kreplach, gribenes, gefilte fish, blintzes, homemade noodles, roast chicken, glazed carrots, egg barley with dried Polish mushrooms. In 1918 during an influenza epidemic my grandmother was 20 years old with two children. First her husband died and two days later her mother died. With eight younger siblings and two of her own, she took care of ten kids in the family. Then an aunt caught the flu and died leaving eight or nine children. My grandmother then married her uncle and raised 18 kids. The secret to her roast chicken was to cook it long enough to render the fat from the chicken and make it crispy. —Eddie Schoenfeld, New York restaurateur

Artichokes, an Old World food, came to America with Italian immigrants and found a happy home in the near-Mediterranean climate of California. As "ethnic" fare, artichokes took their time catching on outside the Golden State. They finally did in the thirties and became something of a fad. Artichokes were not limited to the vegetable course, either. Sometimes the center "choke" was scooped out and the hollow filled with a stuffing for a fashionable light lunch entrée.

Salade de Cresson et Endive Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 10 min

This chilled noodle salad from Zygot Bookworks & Cafe is loaded with crisp vegetables.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Fennel seeds add a flavorful new twist to this vegetarian main course.

If using young, small mustard greens, simply stir-fry as directed, omitting the water and additional cooking time.

This recipe originally accompanied epi:recipeLink="101035"Masa Pancakes Topped with Poached Eggs and Chipotle Ranchera Salsa</epi:recipeLink>.

Bibim Gooksu Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from restaurateur Jenny Kwak's book, Dok Suni: Recipes from My Mother's Korean Kitchen. Kwak also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Kwak and Korean cuisine, click here. This noodle dish is very gratifying on hot summer days when you want to eat something light, healthy, and refreshingly cold. The crisp, clean texture of the cucumber combined with the spiciness from kimchi, the tang from the rice vinegar and a subtle sweetness from the sugar makes the dish so good. The noodles are served over a bed of ice, then topped with this spicy salad-like mixture.

Flavored vinegars can be used to enliven dressings and marinades, finish pan sauces, or pickle vegetables--and they make wonderful gifts. Once the steeping is completed, these vinegars keep for several months. (Garnishes and other solids left in the jar, however, may discolor or break down.)

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

This is as delicious with mussels as it is with clams. Offer a simple green salad afterward, and pears and a wedge of Italian cheese for dessert.

This bruschetta tastes best with tomatoes fresh from the garden. This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.