Ginger

Serve the fish with steamed rice and braised bok choy or Napa cabbage for an elegant and easy Asian-inspired dinner. Begin marinating the fish at least three hours before you plan to cook it.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Here's proof that an elegant dessert does not have to take hours to make. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Called pho in Vietnam, this unusual soup is a wonderful party centerpiece dish for an informal gathering. Start out by supplying everyone with a large soup bowl and a ladle. Place the soup tureen in the middle of the table. Have each guest take a generous helping of noodles first, then some meat and broth. Each serving is topped off with shredded lettuce, sliced green onion and a squeeze of lemon juice.

A mixed vegetable stew, seasoned with spices characteristic of Morocco. Serve it with rice or couscous.

Serve this hearty stew with plain yogurt or raita for a high-protein vegetarian meal.

Ginger, curry powder and Chinese five-spice powder turn up in this northwestern version of a classic holiday relish.

An easy-to-make salad, perfect for a picnic. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

For the crispiest cookies, slice the dough no thicker than a half inch. The biscotti keep well and look great wrapped in tinted cellophane tied with a silk ribbon or raffia, or packed into pretty holiday bags.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Offer white rice alongside this simple, reduced-fat version of one of Rupa's childhood favorites.

Pumpkin is one of those tastes you either love or hate, so there is no point in half-measures. Its earthy flavor should not be overwhelmed by molasses or too much spice, particularly mace. If you’re a pumpkin lover, when you bite into a piece of pumpkin pie, you want to taste pumpkin. In this recipe, I cook the pumpkin and spices before baking, which makes for a more mellow and pleasing flavor. Puréeing the pumpkin in a food processor produces an unusually silky texture. The crunchy bottom crust is the result of creating a layer of gingersnaps and ground pecans to absorb any excess liquid from the filling, and also of baking the pie directly on the floor of the oven.

Spicy Szechuan dishes were quite the thing in the seventies; around that time, pasta was also coming into its own. This recipe features ingredients that are widely available in the Asian foods section of most markets. If you like, add snow peas and sliced red bell pepper for some crunch.