Quick

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.

This was inspired by one of my favorite dishes at Veggie Heaven in Teaneck, New Jersey, an all-vegan Chinese-style eatery. It’s quite unlike their signature mock meat dishes, and really, quite unlike anything I have ever eaten in an Asian restaurant.

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.

Potatoes and black beans synergize nicely in this offbeat salad. The liquid from the artichoke hearts provides plenty of flavor.

This recipe is one I’ve used for a long time, though oddly, it has never made it into any of my books until now. It’s an attractive, fast main dish salad that can be made all year round (now that fresh herbs of all kinds are always available in any supermarket), though I still prefer serving it during warmer months. Leftovers of this salad are delicious in a wrap the next day for lunch or dinner.

A feast of color and texture, this salad is, in a word, dazzling. As the centerpiece of a meal, it’s a pleasure to make and serve, ready in minutes.

Bountiful, easy, and filling, these quesadillas entice with the combination of traditional and offbeat ingredients

When I first blogged about big quesadillas, a number of readers commented about their own fillings. My favorite was this one from Monica Clark-Robinson, an avid and creative cook.

Pizza Margherita is a simple classic, emphasizing fresh tomatoes and basil. This version takes the concept a bit further with a few extra embellishments. It’s a wonderful pizza for late summer or for cool summer evenings when you don’t mind turning on the oven.

Big quesadillas make a filling one-dish meal that is easily completed with a salad on the side. Here is the first of a trio of such fare.

Piled high with embellishments, this pizza is a good one for hearty appetites.

Swiss chard is a beloved kitchen-garden vegetable in Italian cuisine. Combined with white beans and tomatoes, this stick-to-your-ribs dish will satisfy the heartiest of appetites.

The simplicity of this Neapolitan recipe, named for ladies of the night, belies its luscious flavor. Use pitted olives to ease preparation. I especially like this dish made with whole wheat spaghettini.

Carbonara refers to a dish made with bacon. Here, a bacon substitute in the form of a delicious, smoky tempeh product is used. Look for Lightlife smoky tempeh strips, otherwise known as Fakin’ Bacon, in natural food stores and well-stocked supermarkets.

One of my favorite things about Paris—after the museums, the streetscapes, the Seine, the style, the beauty, and so on—is the green beans. Yes, you read that right. Parisian green beans are ubiquitous, and always served perfectly ripe and tender-crisp. Here at home, perfect green beans seem to be available only for a month or so in the summer. This dish is a nice way to highlight them during that brief window; however, I’m so fond of it that I use frozen green beans so I can make this regularly. I highly recommend using organic whole baby green beans, if you can find them; otherwise, French-cut beans will do.

Use slender asparagus and you won’t need to scrape the stalks. If you still believe that asparagus should be a harbinger of spring (even though it’s in the market nearly year-round now), make this dish a tradition by serving it every April or May.

One evening not long ago, I had about one hour to make dinner for the family—and eat—between getting home from one activity and going out to another. I improvised based on what was in the fridge rather than following a recipe. This was the result; everyone liked this simple dish so much that I was compelled to compose a recipe for it, and have followed it many times since.

Chow fun is indeed fun chow when you’re in the mood for tasty Asian-style fare.

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.