Simmer

This sweet and spicy Vietnamese-inspired pasta salad features chicken—use leftovers or grab a rotisserie chicken at the store. Make it for dinner tonight, or pack it up for lunches—it’ll be just as good tomorrow.

At Selamat Pagi, our Balinese restaurant, lime, ginger, and lemongrass are mainstay ingredients, appearing in many dishes. We were thinking about making a sorbet that reflected some of these ingredients and wondered what would happen if we threw all of them together. Our initial taste transported us back to the lush green hills of Bali, after which we were all too disappointed to find ourselves standing in our test kitchen. Along with lemon sorbet, this might be our go-to refreshment when we desperately need to cool off.

We kept this basic pickle brine simple so it can be used with virtually any vegetable. For more flavor punch, swap in different vinegars or add additional spices.

These spiced-packed pickles are the perfect combination of tart and sweet, great for pre-dinner snacking or to top a sandwich. Yellow squash is delicious, but the brine also works well with cucumbers, zucchini, onions, or mushrooms.

A thousand might be an exaggeration, but this complex syrup can be used many ways. Add to spritzers, drizzle over fruit, mix into yogurt, or spoon onto grapefruit halves (to name just a few).

Make the rice before you leave, and pack the vinaigrette in a little jar on the side. You'll thank us, Scout's honor.

A tart huckleberry drinking vinegar (you can try it with different berries) gives club soda some kick.

This vibrant green side dish is great served at room temperature, so you can make it a couple hours before your guests arrive for a dinner party.

Leaving the skins on the peaches for the purée makes for a beautifully pink swirl in this refreshing summer dessert.

This pretty green soup is creamy, cool, and refreshing. Top each bowl with a flavorful mix of parsley, mint, olive oil, and lemon zest.

Don't Move a Mussel—Seriously—this one-pot dinner is that easy. Sweet cherry tomatoes, earthy chorizo, and a splash of wine do the heavy lifting.

The rich Spanish flavors of smoked paprika and Marcona almonds are balanced by the bright freshness of parsley and celery in this update on a classic side dish.

When not using this pesto to dress this very green salad, you could schmear it on just about any sandwich, or stir it into scrambled eggs.