Quick

Don't turn up your nose at this strange-sounding combination—carrots, cocoa, and white chocolate is actually a brilliant union.

Annie Lau is ethnically Chinese, born in Malaysia. Her husband is ethnically Chinese, and born in Hawaii. The couple moved to San Jose in the late 1990s and their kitchen is a laboratory where their regional and ethnic influences meet local ingredients. Neither had seen to Brussels sprouts before moving to California, but after numerous attempts, they devised a recipe to bring out the nutty sweetness in the little cabbages. The final recipe, Ms. Lau says, "is an experiment in laziness. The less you do, the better." Try to pick similar size sprouts.

"I love this meal. It's delicious, healthy and easy for me to prepare. There's not chef in my house!"

Capers give these burgers zing—and cancer protection, too: They help prevent the formation of carcinogens that can occur when meat gets charred.

Editor's note: Use this Sweet Rice Flour Blend to make Carol Kiciski's Red Velvet Whoopie Pies . No single flour can replace wheat flour in gluten-free baking. Gluten is a sticky protein found in wheat, rye, barley and other grains. It is what makes pizza dough stretchy, cakes rise, and baked goods hold together. Gluten-free flours need to be combined with starches and gums in order to react the same way that wheat flour does. Most gluten-free cooking and baking failures occur when the flour blend they are using does not contain enough starch and gum additives to make up for the lack of sticking power found in gluten. When I first went gluten-free I shied away from traditional baking because it seemed like too much trouble to combine various flours. I soon found that in reality it takes only a few short minutes to mix up a batch of gluten-free flour blend. After much trial and error I finally came up with a flour blend that works perfectly in gluten-free baking. This is my preferred flour mix and can be substituted for wheat flour cup for cup. You are going to love this flour mixture. Believe me when I say no one can tell the final product is gluten-free. I taste tested this flour blend on many, many people who customarily eat wheat and quite a few who shy away from “alternative foods”. The comments were unanimously very positive; people either could not tell the desserts were gluten-free or in fact preferred the dishes to those prepared with wheat flour. I make up a batch of this flour blend and store it in a canister so it is always on hand when the mood to bake strikes me. You can also store it in a large plastic storage bag in the freezer. This sweet rice flour blend is so fine it does not need to be sifted before use.

The fresh herbs in this dish- part of the gluten-free menu at Boston's Myers + Chang-add flavor but not fat.

Meaty chanterelles can stand up to a browning sauté, but for this salad we prefer to steam the mushrooms for a tender and delicate texture.

For inspiration, co-owner Eyal Raziel looked to his native Israel, where honey liqueur is popular. "The Bärenjäger balances the kick of the rye," he says.

Rice grits are a by-product of milling Carolina Gold rice. Find them at ansonmills.com or grind your own. To learn how, go to bonappetit.com/go/ricegrits.

When the nights turn blustery and the temperature drops, I know that roasted vegetable season has arrived, and I embrace it with reckless abandon. I'll roast any kind of sturdy vegetable that I can cut up and fit into my oven, but one of my favorites is cauliflower, preferably tossed with whole cumin seeds. Not only does the cumin act as a natural remedy to help reduce the dreaded intestinal gas factor (or so I've been told), but it also adds a pleasant earthy flavor to balance the assertive tang of the vegetable. Roasted cauliflower with cumin makes a nice and simple side dish. Even Dahlia will eat it if she's distracted enough. But recently I made it into lunch. I roasted up a head all for myself, and added a topping of salted yogurt (which is simply a good, full-fat yogurt with a little kosher salt mixed in), a few leftover pomegranate seeds (which I can buy at my local market already picked out of the husk), and a smattering of bright green chopped fresh mint. It was a perfect light lunch. It could even be dinner, served over brown rice, bulgur, or some other filling, toasty grain, for a warming meal to start out roasting season right.

Christensen's vinegary, buttery, barely cooked greens stay bright in color and flavor.

Use John Currence's classic Southern gravy for smothering biscuits , with or without the fried chicken.

For all the robustness of the ingredients of this dish, the end result is notably delicate. One might ask, "Oh, but won't the bracing scent of pine make the dish taste of Christmas fir or, worse, freshly waxed parlor?" It will not. The smoked needles impart a light, balsamic flavor akin to rosemary (indeed one might substitute a bundle of that herb in this recipe), and the light glaze allows the pine flavor to shine through. The overall effect proves an excellent complement to the moist, flaky fish this cooking technique yields. Should one desire a more intensely flavored glaze, one might make a bit extra to brush over the fish before serving.

Lemon and oil is a magical marriage that stumps our companions whenever we serve it. "Sumac?" they guess. "Pickled plum? Verjus?" Beautiful in its simplicity, this vinaigrette is our most-oft served, as it is the one most likely to improve any salad it meets.

The wilderness is filled with greens, from grassy glade and mossy rock to the leaves upon the trees. But how to celebrate this verdant splendor, when one eats neither grass nor moss, neither leaf-lined branch nor bud? The salad bowl is just the place for a pageant of greenery, as one can fill it with a tender mix of lush edibles scooped from the field. We prefer a wild salad to be austerely dressed; too much accessorizing can distract from its simple beauty. A drizzle of lemon and oil and perhaps a scattering of edible blooms are all that are needed here.

Look di-vine! Red grapes contain antioxidants that combat inflammation, a main acne culprit.

THE GOODS This toasty twist on oatmeal will make you smile. Oats' B vitamins trigger production of mood-sweetening serotonin (454 calories per serving).