Rice & Grains

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 2 hr

Thanks to a generous amount of basil, mint and dill, this salad is quite refreshing. It can be taken to a picnic in a covered container that is stored in a cooler.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

All Southern cooks have their own ways of making gumbo. Our recipe contains neither okra nor filé powder, producing a thinner, lighter gumbo.

Steamed asparagus and a baguette are good accompaniments. Drizzle Champagne over raspberries and diced pineapple for dessert.

Pass hot pepper sauce and warm buttered tortillas to complete this easy dish.

You can find the black bean sauce in the oriental section of your supermarket.

Fresh cranberries are usually sold only from November through January. So freeze a few extra bags to make this anytime.

Tortillas de Maiz Packaged tortillas are available everywhere, but homemade ones have better flavor and a more tender texture.

There are generally two kinds of wheat berries available at natural foods stores: hard (high-protein), which are reddish brown, and soft (low-protein), which are blond. We prefer the chewiness of the hard variety for this recipe. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

These rice-coated meatballs, commonly referred to as zhen zhu, meaning "pearls" in Chinese, are often prepared at home in New York City's Chinatown. Steaming them on lettuce leaves helps prevent them from sticking to the steamer rack. They are traditionally made with sticky rice (sometimes called sweet rice), but we've used long-grain rice, which is easier to find.