Beet, Carrot & Goat Cheese Stack with Chive-Pistachio Pesto

I believe there’s some wisdom in the mantra, “Eat Your Colors,” and this little stack of goodness embraces it. Just the sight of these colorful layers of earthy red beet, crisp grated carrot, soft melt-in-your-mouth goat cheese and a drizzle of chive-pistachio pesto energizes me. As an appetizer, lunch, or side dish, this is one mighty tower of wholesome goodness. Have you filled your plate with colors today?

Dried Fig, Apple, Ricotta & Toasted Almond Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

Assembling a salad from leftover ingredients in my pantry can be a risky endeavor. In my college days, one could search my kitchen and find a stash of ketchup, marshmallows, and some questionably fuzzy-looking bread (Oh, how did my roommates and I survive?). These days, I feel so grown-up to say that I can find an array of well-stocked items: a bag of dried figs I planned to use over the holidays, a beautiful bottle of balsamic vinegar I’d been meaning to open, half a bag of sliced almonds, an apple, leftover ricotta (from the Eggplant-Ricotta-Tomato Crostini that we made again as our entire dinner the other night), and some orange-blossom honey. Put them all together with some greens, and they seem like they were meant for each other, melding into a flavorful, colorful, and fresh salad. Here’s to a grown-up pantry. Enjoy!

Avocado-Tomato-Feta Stack

This nutritious and scrumptious salad tower can be enjoyed any time of year, but I think it is festive and perfectly color-coordinated for the holidays. Plus, it helps to balance out all those decadent meals and treats consumed at holiday parties. It’s great as an appetizer, as a healthful snack, or for lunch, and can be tweaked with different ingredients to your taste: optional layers of artichokes, olives, crab, tuna or chicken salad. Enjoy!

Roasted Eggplant, Ricotta & Tomato Crostini

Since reading Eating on the Wild Side, I’ve been trying to fill my grocery basket with more nutrient-rich purple vegetables and to roast them to get the most nutrition out of them. Deep purple eggplant is rich in a number of vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants that fight disease and even help lower bad cholesterol. I love the almost-melted texture of roasted eggplant, and here its softness complements crunchy toasted bread, a pillowy layer of cheese, and a sprinkling of sliced tomatoes and parsley.

Weeknight Za’atar and Lemon Chicken Drumsticks

For quick and easy weekday dinners, I like to have little drumsticks on hand. It takes just a few moments to pre-heat the oven, toss the drumsticks with olive oil and spice in a roasting pan and get them in the oven.

Marinated Roasted Beet & Goat Cheese Salad with Dill

Let’s talk about beets. Those sweet, earthy, garnet-red root vegetables are among the best things you can put in your grocery cart to enhance your health and fight disease, according to Jo Robinson, author of Eating on the Wild Side. A good source of fiber, folate, and potassium, beets are also remarkably high in antioxidants.

Where I Am Now; Tagliatelle with Homemade Garden Pesto

Where I am now, I have a teeny, tiny, little garden I’ve tended all summer long. For me, this is a big accomplishment. For the first summer in seven years, I am not moving across continents and oceans, and I can actually set down roots, literally.

Provencal Herb and Lemon Roasted Chicken

As far as French cuisine goes, most days I’d choose cooking from the French countryside over fancy Parisian Michelin-star fare. I particularly love the culinary style of Provence, with its heavy reliance on aromatic herbs, lemon and fresh ingredients, and its rustic, no-fuss preparations.

One of my favorites to cook – and serve my family – is roasted chicken.

Lamb Chops with Mint Yogurt Sauce

Seared lamb chops get a vibrant punch of flavor with a healthy dollop of mint yogurt sauce. This is one of my husband’s favorites, so we enjoy this dish often. While you sear the lamb chops and let them rest, you can blend up the mint yogurt sauce in very little time. It’s elegant enough for date night but also a great easy family dinner with a salad or side of veggies. Enjoy!

Tuscan Cherry Tomato Bruschetta

If you’ve ever been to Tuscany, you know that the sunlight is different there. It splashes amber rays across the hills and cypress trees, tingles on your skin like warm honey, soaks the edges of your vision in a fuzzy golden hue. It’s as if the sky is determined to set Tuscany’s beauty aglow, drenching it in pure, 100 percent, unfiltered sunshine.

I love reliving that Tuscan sunshine in my own kitchen using the best sun-ripened tomatoes I can find, especially at the height of summer.