Simple Cooking

Spread on crostini or bruschetta, this makes a nice appetizer to precede a pasta dinner. It can also be spread on potatoes, tossed with pasta, or used as a condiment in wraps. I especially like it as a sauce for Very Green Veggie Pesto Pizza (page 142).

This luscious mixture is as welcome on raw salads as it is over cooked noodle, grain, or vegetable dishes.

In creating this recipe, I tried to reproduce the flavors in a peanut sauce that was served over skewers of tofu in an Indonesian restaurant my sons and I visited in Amsterdam. I’m sure this is a simplified rendition, but no matter—it’s really good! Use it to top sautéed tofu or tempeh; it’s also good with noodles. See Golden Tofu Triangles with Rich Peanut Sauce (page 46).

This luscious sauce makes vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, Brussels sprouts) more appealing to the finicky, but even veggie lovers will enjoy this cheesy treat.

This classic recipe is a good way to highlight this nourishing green vegetable. The rich flavor of pine nuts and sweetness of raisins are surprising yet compatible in tandem with the spinach.

You may not feel like dealing with a big mess o’ greens when you’re in a huge hurry to eat, but if your main dish is a breeze and you have a few minutes to spare, it’s a great investment of time. Recently, I fell in love with kale, so preparing a batch in this manner no longer seems like a big deal. Greens—especially kale and collards—provide a reliable source of calcium for vegans. This is a good way to prepare Swiss chard, kale, or collard greens.

Here’s my favorite way to dress up frozen corn kernels. Not surprising, it’s even better with fresh corn, as described in the variation. Serve this as a side dish to Southwestern-style specialties and bean dishes.

This dish is almost embarrassingly easy, but such a crowd-pleaser that I just had to share it. Use a flavorful prepared marinara—smoked tomato, mushroom, or chunky vegetable.

Summer is the prefect time to make the luscious Spanish classic, piperade, when peppers of all colors are abundant and, for a short time, relatively inexpensive. This is a great partner for almost any sort of pasta or grain dish, hot or cold, or to serve alongside a summertime sandwich. Use leftovers in wraps.

Broccoli is given a spark of heat in this speedy preparation. This is a good way to complement Asian-style rice, noodle, or tofu dishes.

This wonderful salad is a perfect accompaniment to classic Middle Eastern dishes. You can also build a meal around it in the summertime; serve with store-bought or homemade hummus, fresh pita bread, and stuffed grape leaves. See the menu with Tofu Shakshouka (page 45) for another menu idea. Make sure to use an organic, unwaxed cucumber, as it’s best unpeeled in this salad.