30 Minutes or Less

One of my favorite gatherings is the Food as Medicine conference, which brings together hundreds of nutritionally minded physicians, nurses, and other wellness professionals. I cook for the attendees, and while they often kindly tell me how much they learn from me, it definitely goes both ways. In fact, this recipe was inspired by Dr. Joel Evans, who is attracted to nutrition from both a scientific and an aesthetic viewpoint and loves to speak about the colors of food having a tangible relation to their healing qualities. There is a school of thought—and increasing scientific evidence—that the more vibrant the color, the more nutrition there is to be found in a food. As an ode to Joel, I set out to create the most colorful salad I could, using purple beets, orange carrots, and fresh mint. If I’d had a vegetable crisper instead of a box of crayons as a kid, this salad would have been the result. You can substitute lemon or lime juice for the orange juice.

I love Asian fare, but I can also see why people stay away from it in their own kitchens. It can be a bit daunting, especially all of those veggies with exotic names that most of us didn’t grow up with and don’t have the faintest idea how to prepare. That’s a shame, because most of them have a load of body-supporting phytochemicals. Here I’ve combined two powerhouses, bok choy and shiitake mushrooms. I prefer baby bok choy, as bok choy gets more bitter as it matures.

Potatoes get a bad rap as being one big carbo load with little or no nutrition. That’s a shame, because it’s not true of all varieties, especially not purple Peruvian potatoes. Smashing, as the name suggests, uses muscle to get what you need, instead of lots of butter and milk like typical mashed potatoes. A hand mixer will do, but I prefer my mom’s old potato masher from 1953. As you pulverize all of those inner starches, you’ll produce a fluffy texture, a lot of flavor, and, with these potatoes, a gorgeous and unusual color.

Toasting cumin releases its aromatic, flavorful, and incredibly healthy oils. As the seeds heat up, they begin popping like popcorn, which is how you know they’re done.

When I was growing up, coleslaw was pretty one-dimensional. It didn’t matter where you went, German deli, Greek diner, it was all pretty much the same: cold cabbage drowned in mayo with a few slivers of carrot for coloring and maybe a few celery seeds. These days, slaw has gotten an extreme makeover, and there are now more versions to choose from. This concoction is both warm and sweet and serves as a great base for salmon, chicken, tofu, or tempeh. Sautéing the onions, red cabbage, and carrots in a little brown rice vinegar, tamari, and ginger makes it easy to eat and mighty flavorful.

For a lot of people, working with greens is reminiscent of a high school science project. I used to feel that way too. I remember the first time I brought home a bunch of Swiss chard. I laid those big, leafy stalks on my counter and thought to myself, “Should I just put these in a vase and stare at them? Or should I wait until summer and fan myself with them?” The truth is, for many of us, our aversion to greens goes back to childhood because kids are very sensitive to bitter tastes and, many greens, if not prepared properly, can be bitter. However, all it takes to remove that bitter taste is a very simple fix: a quick bath in olive oil and a little heat. Sautéeing chard in olive oil—or any green, for that matter—makes the flavor and consistency much more palate friendly. Adding orange to the mix makes these greens especially yummy, and that’s a great thing because greens and the phytochemicals they contain are a must-have for maintaining health.

As much as I love to cook, I also really enjoy watching other cooks go through their creative process. Recently I was at a conference at the Commonweal Retreat Center, where I was able to observe one of my favorite cooks, Claire Heart. She brought out this dish, and the first thing I noticed was that it had bok choy. Now that’s a great vegetable, but it tends to be bitter. She completely solved that problem by pairing it with yams to create a dish that tasted like a vegetarian Chinese Thanksgiving. It was a completely unique and delicious pairing. The colors blew me away as well. I went home and decided to play around with her concept, adding a little ginger for zing and digestion and a few more Asian-style flavors. Thank you, Claire!

Eureka! A frosting with just two ingredients. Spread this rich, sweet, creamy frosting over Chocolate Cupcakes (page 22), Strawberry Cupcakes (page 24), or, for an extra sweet treat, White Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes (page 40).

A splendid no-cook soup that will awaken taste buds dulled by summer heat. This soup can be eaten as soon as it is made, but definitely benefits from having time to stand for several hours so that the lively flavors can mingle. This soup is a great first course for a Mexican or Southwestern-style meal.

With the help of a food processor, this tasty, no-cook soup will be ready to eat in minutes. Serve with stone-ground tortilla chips or warmed flour tortillas.

This Asian-style soup is a treat for mushroom aficionados. Scallion Pancakes (page 157) are a good accompaniment. This is a perfect introduction to a simple meal of stir-fried vegetables with tofu.

Serve this soup Asian-style. Slurp the noodles from the broth with chopsticks, then use an Asian soup spoon to scoop up what’s left. This simple soup comes together in less than 30 minutes.

This Asian soup is brimming with invigorating flavors and textures. I love it as a change of pace in the winter from thick soups and stews. It’s still every bit as warming. Despite the length of the ingredient list, this is a quick soup—you’ll be eating in about half an hour.