Dairy Free

Fresh asparagus and dill turn this soup into a flavorful celebration of spring.

Here’s a good way to use up some of that leftover holiday turkey!

Enjoy a bowl of this soup for a light lunch, or pair it with a dark green or spinach salad or Balsamic-Marinated Vegetables (page 78) for a heartier meal.

Here’s how to have a quick cup of soup that won’t eat up your sodium limit for the day. Keep this mixture on hand at work for an easy lunch or take it on a camping trip—in fact, you can use it wherever boiling water is available.

A touch of spicy curry paste makes this sweet-potato soup sing. It is an obvious choice to serve with Asian food, but don’t overlook it for other meals as well. Try the soup with roasted turkey for Thanksgiving, serve it tonight with Pork Chops with Herb Rub (page 196), or warm up a fall picnic by sharing some of it from an insulated container.

Just a few minutes of standing time brings out the delectable flavor of the fresh basil in this easy-to-prepare soup.

Beautiful in color, this soup is creamy without using dairy products. The crunchy pumpkin seeds provide a nice texture contrast. Serve the soup hot in the winter and chilled in the summer.

You’ll know the holidays have arrived when the spicy aroma of gingerbread cookies fills your home!

For a flavor change, replace beef or chicken broth with this tasty, so-easy-to-make broth. If you have extra broth, see the Cook’s Tip on Freezing Broth (page 51).

Beef broth is good “as is” and for adding flavor to many dishes. Roasting the bones adds both flavor and color to the broth. Keep some broth in the freezer so you’ll have it whenever you need it (see Cook’s Tip on Freezing Broth, page 51).

With this big batch of broth, you’ll have plenty to serve as a first course and to freeze for later use in a variety of recipes. Save the cooked chicken for Chicken Salad (page 91) or Chicken, Barley, and Spinach Casserole (page 160).

Attractive, fragrant, and so tasty, these kebabs are a great way to fit more servings of fruit into your diet.

When berries are at their peak, use them to make a gorgeous dessert fit for an emperor—or your family! The crisp wonton wrappers are a low-fat stand-in for the puff pastry typically used to make napoleons.

When the bananas on your counter start to freckle, it’s time to make sorbet!

Garlic can be enhanced in a number of ways, each having their own flavor profile. Blanching in water prevents oxidation (and therefore harshness). Poaching in olive oil does the same thing, and yields garlic-flavored olive oil that can be used for basting, coating, and vinaigrettes. Roasted garlic can be sliced as cloves or mashed into a luscious puree that will melt into sauces. Toasting garlic gives it a nutty flavor that is all its own.

This simple sauce has many applications: as a sauce for meat (page 54), as a pasta sauce, or as a soup base. Wood-roasting the peppers and onions adds great flavor. Returning them to the fire along with the wine and other ingredients adds a richness and depth to the sauce. use a red wine that has a lot of presence such as Zinfandel or Sangiovese. You can add other spices, such as a curry blend or chipotles in adobo, as you choose.

Roasting lemons and shallots brings out their natural sugars and imparts a smoky flavor as well. Try variations, too, such as oranges and large cloves of garlic.

These smoky flavored olives are always the first thing to disappear off an antipasti platter or hors d’oeuvres spread. The brightness of the orange zest enhances the earthy flavors of the olives; you can use freshly squeezed orange juice if you don’t have zest. I love to serve these straight from the oven, still warm.

In India, chutneys are used as condiments to accompany curries. In our culture, they can be used to brighten up any number of roasted or grilled meats or fish. This version is grilled over a wood fire. Chutney can be made from a variety of fruits combined with raisins, an acid such as vinegar or juice, ginger, and some traditional Indian spices to create a fabulous condiment. Its flavors will continue to develop during storage.