Simple Cooking

After tasting this Mediterranean and Middle Eastern delight, even avowed zucchini haters will sing the vegetable’s praises. If you don’t have—or you dislike—dill, use other herbs such as basil, chives, and mint, and try French or Bulgarian feta for a milder and less salty alternative to the Greek cheese. Serve these zucchini patties with traditional meze dishes such as tzatziki, labaneh, tabbouleh, fattoush, olives, dolma, hummus, and kibbeh, for an array of appetizers.

Fiery adobo sauce is the secret ingredient in this classic first course. Chopped cucumber, crunchy celery, and silky avocado help round out the spicy sauce, making it hearty enough for a quick and easy light lunch and perfect for a hot summer afternoon.

These slightly sweet and perfectly tart scones are quick and easy for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon snack. Meyer lemons, a cross between a lemon and an orange, are sweeter and less acidic than regular lemons. They’re gaining in popularity and more widely available, but if you can’t find any, just use a standard lemon. Likewise, dried blueberries can often be found at specialty food stores and good supermarkets, but dried cranberries are easier to find and make an excellent substitute.

Serve this spritzer as a rejuvenating treat in the summer heat, or try the basil lime syrup drizzled over your favorite melon. If you decide to add alcohol to a few glasses, garnish with either a fresh sprig of basil or a lime wheel to differentiate them from the virgin drinks.

This recipe is a great way to use the extra zucchini from the garden or farmers’ market and is chockfull of healthy ingredients. For an even more nutritious version, substitute the same amount of applesauce for the butter, and brown sugar instead of white.

Epicurious member Uhlemann may have thought of one of the best pastry workarounds since the frozen pie shell. This recipe uses phyllo dough, and, once you get the hang of working with it, it’s easy, fast, and leakproof. Great for a brunch, this quiche can be made ahead and reheats perfectly.

Bursting with bold, south-of-the-border flavor, these zesty breakfast tacos give you a reason to rise and shine. Creamy, luscious eggs and sharp Cheddar engulf the spicy chorizo. Slightly crisp corn tortillas mean this can be a quick breakfast or a more leisurely knife-and-fork operation. Serve this dish for a casual family brunch, but be sure to make plenty for everyone: with such crowd-pleasing ingredients, these tacos disappear quickly. If you want to skip the chorizo, try using other breakfast meats or even a vegetarian sausage.

The sister-in-law of Epicurious member Connie Sainato of Smyrna, Delaware, introduced her to these eggs at a holiday brunch. They most closely resemble a baked frittata, but what makes the recipe a winner is that you can completely prep it the night before. “Since I am not a morning person, I always make at night and bake in morning,” Sainato says. She suggests using only nutty Gruyère in this, as it melts beautifully, but in a pinch you can use whatever Swiss you have on hand.

The combination of stone fruits, berries, and melon, dressed in a simple but zingy ginger syrup, makes for a seasonal dish that’s elegant enough for a party and easy enough for a creative topping to your morning bowl of quinoa or oatmeal.

This frothy Southeast Asian favorite is easy to make and even easier to slurp down. Customize your drink with mint or cumin for a summer barbecue, baby shower, or birthday; you can even spice it up your drink with ground chiles or fresh ginger.

This carrot cake from Becky Guyton, a home cook in Ohio, is one of our most beloved recipes, perhaps because it achieves the perfect balance of tangy and sweet, spongy and creamy, dense and light. Originally appearing in a 1994 Bon Appétit column, it’s almost as moist as bread pudding. To cut back on the sweetness, just reduce the amount of sugar in the icing to three cups.

In this classic take on strawberry shortcake, tender buttermilk biscuits are piled high with fresh berries and lush, vanilla-scented whipped cream. We like the biscuits fresh out of the oven, but they can be baked a few hours in advance; return them to the oven for five minutes, and they’ll be as good as new.

When strawberries and rhubarb are at the peak of freshness, buy some, if only to make this pie. Be mindful of adding water slowly to the dough to achieve flaky perfection. Depending on the room temperature and humidity, the dough may need less or more water than the recipe calls for.

This mix of refreshing lemon and spicy ginger snaps in the form of a frosty, zesty pie is perfect for spring parties. The ginger snap crust is ridiculously easy. Consider topping the pie’s creamy citrus with a sweet dash of raspberry sauce.

Ice cream sandwiches are hard to hate, especially this one. What can be wrong with a dessert that combines sweet blueberries, tart lemon ice cream, and buttery blondie-like cookies? Store-bought vanilla ice cream gets a flavor lift with the addition of lemon juice and zest, plus an easy (as in three minutes’ prep time) blueberry compote.

This velvety pudding is the brainchild of chef and cookbook author Sara Foster; and like many of her recipes, it’s a masterpiece of simple goodness that needs no extra bells or whistles. But it’s amenable to a variety of sauces and toppings. Try soaking the fresh berries in port to make a memorable dessert.

Inspired by Brittany’s traditional salted caramel candies, this is a knockout ice cream. If you’ve never made caramel before, be prepared for what will seem like violent splattering when the cream is added to the hot, melted sugar. Relax—this is normal and subsides quickly. The other crucial moment comes when you slowly add the steamy milk mixture to the eggs. If curdling does occur, simply strain the mixture to ensure the smoothest possible custard

Here’s a gluten-free ice cream from Epicurious member Lorelei Lee of Philadelphia, complete with the taste of carrot cake. A cooling treat, this dish is perfect for a sunny day. Cream cheese, sugar, and milk provide the backbone for the simple dish, while cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and shredded carrot give it that carrot cake feel. Like most homemade ice creams, this dessert should be eaten within a few days.

The moist and toothsome coconut macaroon becomes a delicious (and infinitely more portable) bar cookie when built upon a dense shortbread base. The result is a surefire bake-sale winner, a kid-pleasing picnic finale, and an inviting edible gift for holidays or birthdays.