Carrot

This adaptation of a traditional Middle Eastern salad is filled with vigorous flavors and textures. I especially like it with Middle Eastern-or Spanish-themed meals. For a light summer meal, serve this with Sweet and White Potato Salad with Mixed Greens (page 188).

Here’s a salad with plenty of personality. I like to make this as part of a meal of cool dishes in the summer, either with a cold soup or with two additional interesting salads.

Crushed pineapple is the standout ingredient in this pleasant slaw. It provides a good balance to spicy or bold dishes. I like it with Southwestern fare like Tortilla Casserole (page 104), but my favorite dish to serve it with is Pasta Jambalaya (page 123).

When you need to add color and crunch to a dinner plate, this fruit-filled slaw is a pleasing option. I like using Granny Smith apples in this recipe, but use any crisp apple you have on hand. Make this salad before starting your meal’s centerpiece; it benefits from having time to let the flavors blend and the cabbage soften.

This crisp salad is a delightful accompaniment to many Asian-style grain, noodle, tofu, or seitan dishes. I recommend it quite often throughout the book.

Here’s another good way to utilize root vegetables raw; the dressing adds a rich, delicious flavor.

The word daikon actually comes from two Japanese words, dai (large) and kon (root). And that’s just what it is. Daikon radish, a large white root vegetable, is often served grated in small quantities with Asian meals, since it’s considered a good digestive aid. I often combine it with one or two other vegetables—if one, that would be carrots, as presented here, and if two, I’ll also grate any broccoli stem I’ve saved in the fridge. It’s a refreshing little salad that goes with just about any kind of meal.

Like the previous recipe, the combination of grains and beans in this salad makes it an ideal centerpiece for a meal.

Crunchy and colorful, this is an appealing presentation for cold Asian noodles.

This spicy, nutty salad is an amalgam of Indonesian and Thai-influenced ingredients and seasonings.

I’ll always have a pleasant association with this classic Indonesian salad platter, as it was the first meal I had on my first trip to Paris. The tiny, cozy Indonesian restaurant was right next door to our hotel, and coming straight from an all-night flight, my friend Wendy and I were too tired to venture further before a meal and a nap. Served with plenty of rice, the salad (which always combines raw and lightly cooked vegetables) made for a filling and memorable meal. Here’s my Americanized, but still appealing interpretation.

Here’s an offbeat way to present a stir-fry. Tofu-filled ravioli are like little dumplings in this dish. Do try to use hoisin sauce to finish the dish. It creates a nice brown glaze and adds just the right flavor kick to the mild ravioli.

Colorful and luscious, this Thai restaurant classic can easily be made at home.

If you’re looking for an undemanding tempeh dish that makes a large quantity, here’s a good choice.

This is a nice change of pace from more common soy sauce–flavored stir-fries, but it’s just as quick and every bit as delectable. Don’t be alarmed by the ingredient list, which is relatively long compared with those in most recipes in this book. It really is a quick dish, and with such an array of healthy components, you’ll need little else to make a satisfying meal.

Orzo is a rice-shaped pasta. Look for the tricolor variety. While the orzo cooks, the vegetables for this soup roast in the oven, resulting in a sweet, smoky flavor when submerged in the broth.

An abundance of grated carrots makes these cupcakes moist, while granulated sugar, instead of the traditional brown, keeps them light.

This recipe was developed as a more healthy option to serve at a baby’s or young child’s birthday party. Sweetened only with a combination of maple syrup and molasses, the moist carrot cupcakes are sure to entice children and adults alike (which is helpful, since parents and other older guests often outnumber little ones at early birthday celebrations). Paired with a tangy, mildly sweet frosting—just cream cheese and maple syrup—the cupcakes are also a better choice than most for anyone watching his or her refined sugar intake. Mini cupcakes get only a dab of frosting and a candied carrot chip, while standard cupcakes are dotted with a generous amount of frosting.

A well-loved American layer cake is scaled down to cupcake form. Golden raisins give these cakes added texture, but you can omit them. You can also add one cup walnuts or pecans; toast them as directed on page 323, let cool, then finely chop before stirring into the batter at the end, after the flour mixture. Unfrosted carrot cupcakes make delicious snacks.