Herbs & Spices

We usually turn to fish for omega-3 fatty acids and their brain-enhancing powers, but walnuts are a great vegetarian source of the nutrient.

The browned, crusty layer of rice that forms at the bottom of the pan is considered the most treasured part of this Middle Eastern classic.

Bake this festive spice cake in your favorite Bundt pan or pudding bowl, or feel free to use an 8" springform pan. You can top the cake with Luscious Chocolate Icing or simply dust it with powdered sugar.

Where's the beef? Who cares? The spiced beans in these festive folds contain fiber, a blood sugar regulator that fends off cravings, as well as protein, which builds lean muscle. Satisfied taste buds and a trimmer you—check and check!

Marinate thinly sliced mushrooms to create a simple, fresh salad.

Traditional Asian meals tend to be full of veggies, and this one won't disappoint. Also, peanuts provide protein and off-the-chart levels of resveratrol, the same heart-smart compound found in red wine.

Satisfy a hankering for high-fat Alfredo sauce with this light, no-dairy version. Oat milk and cashew butter stand in for heavy cream, keeping calories and saturated fat low.

The success of this simple soup depends on using the freshest watercress available. Choose the full-grown, thick-stemmed variety; it has more of the green's characteristic bold, peppery flavor.

A simple addition to the master dough results in deliciously scented rolls.

Serve this fragrant, Indian-inspired side dish with all things chicken.

We've been making chef Scott Howard's ginger syrup in bulk and keeping it in the fridge for quick tonics and late- evening cocktails. If you have a juicer at home, by all means use it, but good store-bought 100 percent carrot juice will work just as well here.

To make the breadcrumbs, tear up a day-old baguette or some crusty country bread and pulse it in a food processor until the crumbs are coarse. If you end up with more than you need, freeze the surplus in an airtight container.

We mix finely ground oats and almonds into the biscuit dough for extra texture, flavor, and nutritional value.

Brisket is the centerpiece of many holiday tables, but pot roast, cooked to succulent tenderness in a full-bodied braising liquid brightened with the tang of wine and tomato and enriched with a heady trio of cinnamon, bay leaf, and thyme is just as special without sacrificing tradition.

Rich with chocolate and studded with bits of toasted almonds with a faint coconut flavor, this heavenly dessert is a special finish to a holiday meal. Because the leavening comes from aeration, it is essential that the ingredients be at room temperature before assembling the batter.

A yellow cake gets filled with jam then cleverly surrounded by a rhubarb mousse by using a larger spring-form pan as a mold. A jewel-like rhubarb glaze creates a finishing touch. If you have small, early tri-star or wild strawberries to garnish the top, so much the better!

When we say simple, we mean it. And simplicity is exactly what you want when the local strawberry season arrives, and you'd rather be outside than indoors at the stove—even though you want to celebrate berry season with an easy, spectacular dessert. Ta da! We've solved the problem. Borrowing and expanding on South American alfajores, those addictive buttery sandwich cookies filled with dulce de leche, we've made one big, flat cookie base (no hassling with tart pans), spread it with dulce de leche, and then topped it with a soft pillow of whipped cream for freshly sliced strawberries. It doesn't get better than this!