Steam

This recipe was created to accompany Lemon Rhubarb Cake Roll. .

This salad's delicious dressing is popular with my children as a dip for vegetables (I make a bottle of it to keep in the refrigerator). The salad is great for lunch boxes, or as a side dish served warm or cold. Use three-color pasta, if possible. Preparation: 10 minutes/Cooking: 12 minutes Nutritional information: Rich source of beta-carotene, fiber, and folic acid

This recipe was created to accompany Broiled Salmon with Curried Eggplant Cutney . Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr

"I was at a conference in West Vancouver, British Columbia, when I discovered Salmon House on the Hill," writes Beth D'Ambrosio of Pittsford, New York. "The one thing more breathtaking than the restaurant's view was dessert: a slice of impossibly rich chocolate cake topped with raspberry sorbet." This dense and fudgy flourless chocolate cake isn’t baked—it’s steamed on top of the stove. The cake will puff up while it steams and fall as it cools.

Probably the Shakers' greatest gift to American cookery was their knowledge and liberal use of herbs, which were relied upon to vary and enliven standard dishes. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Makes use of the microwave oven.

A main-dish salad that's perfect for a casual summer dinner. Using purchased roasted chicken or leftover cooked chicken makes it even easier.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Neen Gow, New Year's Cake, is the most important cake eaten on New Year's — the main ingredient, glutinous rice flour, is a symbol of cohesiveness. The egg-dipped, pan-fried slices have a mellow sweetness and are slightly chewy from glutinous rice flour. Mama remembers watching her grandmother's servants scraping the slab brown candy, peen tong, for this cake, which is the traditional technique. Brown candy is a kind of sugar that is sold by the slab in 1-pound packages and is also available loose in bins in some Chinese markets. The slabs are about 5 inches long, 1 1/4 inches wide, and a scant 1/2 inch thick. The scraping of the sugar is extremely labor-intensive, so some cooks dissolve the slabs of sugar in water, which is less authentic but much easier to prepare. Be sure to use glutinous rice flour here, not regular rice flour! See the introduction to Turnip Cake for how to serve and store this New Year's Cake.

Glutinous rice is distinctively aromatic and appealingly chewy. Before being steamed, it requires at least 3 hours of soaking (overnight is fine, too).