Nut Free

Gravy is pure comfort for me, and if I can make a gravy into a meal, so much the better. This is one of my favorite ways to have a rich, comforting, and filling dinner in less than half an hour. It also contains one of my favorite methods to get a toasty gravy base with lots of depth—toasting bread crumbs. After caramelizing the onions, you sprinkle in the bread crumbs and toss them around a bit until golden brown. Then, when you add the liquid ingredients, the bread crumbs thicken and flavor the gravy. It's wonderful served with grilled or sautéed kale, and over mashed potatoes.

If you have a fetish for dark chocolate, this will fuel your flame. It will also energize your body with antioxidants that boost blood flow to the brain (and a few other vital organs). Cocoa, kale, and cherries, three beloved and sexy superfoods, contain flavonoids and antioxidants that fight heart disease and diabetes and even promote brain growth.

I like the flavor of pie dough made with butter, but I sometimes like to include a few tablespoons of lard in the dough. The butter gives a lovely rich flavor and tenderness and the lard makes the dough crisper and flakier, and easier to handle. If you don't have good, fresh lard on hand, organic vegetable shortening will accomplish the same result. The butter and lard are cut and worked into smaller pieces in this dough creating a more tender pastry than the crisp gallette dough.

This pasta is tasty made with kale, collards, or any greens you have growing in the garden. I will go and cut whatever is ready or use what I brought home from the farmers' market. I like to include something that has a bit of spice, such as broccoli rabe, red mustards, or mature rocket. Many times I will cook more greens than I need and put them in the refrigerator to make a quick pasta another time. (Add the garlic and goat cheese at the time you are going to toss them with the pasta.) This is perfect for those days when dinnertime shows up before you know it.

This gluten-free crust is inspired by the very popular gluten-free cakes we've baked at CakeLove for years. Here, I've added freshly ground golden flaxseeds, which add a wonderful, nutty aroma and taste to the dough. The rice flour lends sweetness, and millet is a good substitute for the starch component in flour, but it doesn't do much in the way of binding. That task is left to the tapioca and egg white, which help hold the dough together as you roll it out.

Like most recipes in this book, this salad can be altered endlessly and tweaked to your liking. Have a cup of kale left over from dinner? Dice it and mix into your fish salad for an added boost of flavor, fiber, and vitamin K. Or try adding some of your favorite hot sauce to this recipe and serve it on whole grain crackers as a snack or hors d'oeuvre. The options are endless.

Less is more when it comes to adding ingredients to this simple sauce and meatballs. Do make sure, however, that you're using the proper salt and pepper for seasoning, as you should with all of these recipes. You should be using a high quality kosher salt, if not sea salt.. The bigger and more intense the grains of salt, the less you'll need to season. If you want to experiment with these meatballs, try tweaking one or two spices at a time. Another twist is doing a 50/50 mix of ground pork with ground beef. You'll have a much juicer meatball.

Pork chops can get pretty dried out. This recipe fixes that age-old problem. It's also a great main course for a family-style dinner. Just slice the pork after it's done cooking, place in a serving dish, and then top with the savory mustard sauce. These pork chops make wonderful leftovers and serve as a nice addition to a breakfast or atop a salad for lunch. Perfect Pork Chops also depend on getting the right pork. Pasture-raised pork will contain a healthier mix of fats and vitamin D. Pork also contains high concentrations of thiamine, which is used by all cells to make energy and is particularly important to the brain, and B6, which helps make several key neurotransmitters.

Kosher Status: Meat
Prep: 10 Minutes
Cook: 4 Hours
Rest: 15 Minutes
Total: 4 Hours, 25 Minutes

**Editor's note:**Use this recipe to make Ali Larter's Winter Lettuces with Pomegranate Seeds . This is an everyday dressing that is wonderful on all variations of lettuces and vegetables. It's a welcome change from bottled dressing and so easy to make.

Kosher Status: Meat
Prep: 10 Minutes
Cook: 2 Hours, 20 Minutes
Total: 2 1/2 Hours

Kosher Status: Pareve
Prep: 35 Minutes
Rise: 2 Hours, 15 Minutes
Bake: 45 to 55 Minutes
Cool: 15 Minutes
Total: About 4 Hours

Watch out: These crispy, spicy avocado fries are addictive! Especially when dunked in a yogurty dipping sauce.

These are made with sweet potatoes, a superfood that helps you slim and energize. The sticks have kick, so dunk 'em in our cooling dip to put out the fire.