Steam

Mussels unfettered by garlic taste more like their own sweet, turgid selves. On the tiny porch of the seaside bar where we ate this pasta, the cook who was the mussel gatherer who was the bartender who was the pastrymaker added crushed, dried seaweed to the finished dish. He cooked the mussels and the pasta over a fire he’d built of driftwood a few meters from the bar. It was a fairly good-sized blaze, ample enough to heat an old cauldron along with the mussel pot, it bubbling with a potion of wild myrtle berries in which he immersed a great, gray fish net, tinting it, cooking it to a deep, bright blue.

Taylor Bay Scallops are named for fisherman Rod Taylor, who farm-raises them and harvests them by hand in the icy waters off Cape Cod. Unlike diver scallops, which are larger and have a meaty texture, the small, delicate Taylor Bays are sold live in their beautiful pink shells. Their size and sweetness make them perfect for steaming, which releases the juices trapped in the scallop shells, giving an oceany, scallopy flavor to the broth.

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.

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.

Here’s a salad with plenty of personality. I like to make this as part of a meal of cool dishes in the summer, either with a cold soup or with two additional interesting salads.

Luscious and yummy are rarely terms applied to salad, but I would be so bold as to use them to describe this one. Offbeat, colorful, and quick, it’s a dish I make often in winter months when cool, crunchy salads are less enticing.

This spicy, nutty salad is an amalgam of Indonesian and Thai-influenced ingredients and seasonings.

I’ll always have a pleasant association with this classic Indonesian salad platter, as it was the first meal I had on my first trip to Paris. The tiny, cozy Indonesian restaurant was right next door to our hotel, and coming straight from an all-night flight, my friend Wendy and I were too tired to venture further before a meal and a nap. Served with plenty of rice, the salad (which always combines raw and lightly cooked vegetables) made for a filling and memorable meal. Here’s my Americanized, but still appealing interpretation.

I love this salad with mango, but since it’s not always available, pineapple is a good alternative. If you have more time, use fresh pineapple in season. Cutting it up is really not that time consuming, and the fresh fruit tastes amazing.

Swiss chard is a beloved kitchen-garden vegetable in Italian cuisine. Combined with white beans and tomatoes, this stick-to-your-ribs dish will satisfy the heartiest of appetites.

Tofurky sausage is a fun protein source that provides plenty of flavor and spice to a meal. I prefer it to other kinds of faux sausages because it’s made with tofu and seitan rather than textured soy protein (see notes on this product in the introduction, page 19). The bold taste of Tofurky sausage provides a perfect foil for fresh greens.