Simmer

This earthy pasta dish is delicious made with the wide, long noodles called pappardelle, or with the thinner and more readily available fettuccine.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Rice pilaf can be made traditionally, with basmati rice, or with regular long-grain white rice. For a real treat, garnish the pilaf with shredded coconut, raisins and chopped green onions.

Here, lime juice replaces the traditional lemongrass, which can be hard to find. The result is a quick, authentic-tasting Thai-style soup. If coconut milk is unavailable, substitute 1 3/4 cups half and half mixed with 3/4 teaspoon imitation coconut extract.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A full-flavored Italian blue cheese adds pizzazz to this pasta. Serve the dish with a salad, bread and a glass of white wine for a lovely weekday dinner.

Because watermelons vary in size and shape, your yield from the following recipe may differ from ours. We began with a fourth of a large watermelon. When slicing the watermelon, aim for a minimum of four slices but be aware that you could have as many as six, depending on the configuration of your melon; a long, narrow watermelon will give more slices than a fatter, rounded one.

Although we feature smoked fish in this chowder, the recipe works equally well with fresh fillets of such white fish as cod, haddock, halibut, or snapper.

A stick-to-the-ribs-not-the-waistline chili. Great served with all the usual toppings: chopped red or green onions, chopped cilantro, shredded cheddar cheese (low-fat, of course) and nonfat yogurt.

Easy and colorful, this side dish is nice with the lamb.

This soup is related to brotchán foltchep, a classic leek and oatmeal soup (also known as brotchán roy) that combines leeks, oatmeal and milk. This version is thickened with potatoes instead of oatmeal and flavored with chicken stock instead of milk. Serve it with savory whole wheat scones or slices of brown soda bread.

The roasted vegetables add great depth of flavor to this soup.