Squash

Grilled vegetables pump up the classic Tuscan bread-and-tomato salad. What to drink: An Italian white like Vernaccia di San Gimignano or Orvieto. Can't find ciabatta? Use any good-quality crusty Italian or French bread.

In this perfect no-cook dish you can substitute crumbled bacon for the chicken or just omit the meat altogether.

It may appear very oily at first, but this dish comes together in the end without being the least bit heavy. We realize that not everyone will have 3 colanders on hand. You can also toss the vegetables with salt and let them drain in large bowls.

Head north of Sunset, and you will happen upon this live-music supper club tucked away in the hills of tony Bel Air. The swank venue features a stage surrounded by tables where you can spy toe-tapping regulars such as Nicolette Sheridan and Virginia Madsen taking in the soulful jazz tunes. You can make a meal of chef Sharon Funt's delicious flatbread appetizer; each serving provides more than 8 grams of fiber.

Improv: Add or substitute corn on the cob, eggplant slices, or portobellos.

This colorful side dish gets a hint of heat from roasted poblano chiles. Its bold flavors make it a great accompaniment to grilled meats.

We tested this recipe using a charcoal grill and a gas grill and found that grilling the dough over charcoal required both direct and indirect heat, a process too involved for Quick Kitchen. We prefer supermarket mozzarella rather than fresh for this pizza because fresh mozzarella exudes too much liquid when cooked. If your pizza dough is frozen, allow 2 to 3 hours to let it thaw.

This creamy chilled soup will make you hope for an abundance of zucchini in your garden this year. Thin-sliced zucchini blossoms, available at produce markets and specialty foods shops, add a beautiful hint of color while lending texture to the soup's smoothness.

The mildly bitter flavor of yu choy plays nicely against the sweet curry sauce and kabocha squash. Chinese broccoli or broccoli rabe (rapini) can be used instead. Serve with white rice.

Carbonara is a legendary Roman pasta dish. Here's a version that includes sautéed zucchini. It's meat-free yet every bit as delicious as the egg-and-bacon original.

Healthy bonus: Vitamin A from the pumpkin, fiber from the peas

Goes great with: Salad of butter lettuce, radicchio, roasted pears, and toasted walnuts. What to drink: Red Burgundy or Pinot Gris.

Calabazas are commonly found at Latino markets already cut into large wedges; kabochas are generally sold at natural foods stores.

A touch of cream Sherry amplifies the sweetness of the nuts and the squash.

As this soup cooks, the kitchen will quickly fill with the tantalizing aroma of leeks stewing in butter with pumpkin, curry, and spices.