Blender

Wheat Free No need to worry if your local market doesn't carry egg-free mayo. Just whip up some of your own. This recipe works very well as a sandwich spread or in any mayonnaise-based dressing. As long as you use wheat-free vinegar, this mayo is indeed wheat-free.

Because ripe pineapples bruise easily and don't travel well, and because the fruit doesn't ripen after being picked, processed pineapple products like juice and canned fruit that are made from fully ripened fruit frequently taste better than the fresh pineapples available to most consumers. That's why I don't waste my time juicing my own pineapples for beverages. Strawberries are another matter. Strawberry juice, because of its low acidity, is highly perishable. In this light sparkling soda, the strawberry juice is fresh and the pineapple juice is processed—the best of both worlds.

Leeks are easy to cultivate, but they do require a long growing season. This soup is one of the easiest to prepare, and it gets a colorful boost with the addition of fresh spinach leaves.

The crisp-tender texture and robust flavor of thinly sliced Tuscan kale stands up to the tart, Caesar-like dressing of this hearty slaw. Serve as a first course or as a side with grilled chicken, beef, or lamb.

Cherry tomatoes—grilled on the vine and drizzled with fragrant basil-mint oil—burst with flavor alongside salty grilled Halloumi cheese and crisp, cool watermelon.

Briny shellfish give this quick bouillabaisse its depth of flavor. Basil rouille (a garlicky Provençal mayonnaise) adds vibrancy.

Use chilled fruit (and a frozen banana) for an even more refreshing drink.

You’re probably familiar with the little tune that announces the ice cream truck is coming down the street. In Mexico, there’s a specific whistle (admittedly, not at all pleasant) that lets you know a cart with warm sweet potatoes and plantains is on its way. The purveyors wander through the streets pushing carts that steam the sweet potatoes and plantains in their skins. The whistle is the cry of the steam coming out. For this recipe, you can use either bananas or plantains. Either way, roasting heightens their sweetness and gives them a more complex flavor. If you use plantains, be sure to buy ripe ones: they look black on the outside and feel mushy.

Avocado ice cream is fairly common in Mexico, so I decided to make avocado one of the flavors of paletas when I launched my company La Newyorkina (“the girl from New York”) at the Hester Street Fair in New York City’s Lower East Side. I was unsure of how people would receive them, but avocado paletas rapidly became a customer and personal favorite! An avocado ice pop may sound unusual, but it’s very tasty and has a luscious creamy texture without any dairy. The lime juice not only helps keep the paleta green, it also enhances the flavor of the avocados.

Anything grilled could be described as smoky, but our cover burger is a multi layered masterpiece thanks to chipotle chiles mingled with adobo, smoked paprika, and bacon. Seared avocado makes it almost too good to be true.

Sautéing and simmering shrimp shells to make a quick stock gives this soup a deeper, richer flavor.

Easy-to-make almond milk is the rich, flavorful foundation for this icy treat.

It's hard to believe that a three ingredient dessert can deliver such a big flavor payoff. Try garnishing with a wedge of watermelon.

I'm not the first to think of this variation on everyone's favorite campfire sweet, but I'm willing to pit mine against anyone else's! This is a win-win s'more because not only does it turn a beloved but messy dessert into something spectacular—and easy—for any time of year, but it also frees you from having to fire up the grill to reach chocolate-marshmallow nirvana. Even better, you can secretly feel good knowing you are upping everyone's fiber with 100 percent whole-wheat crêpes (you can't say that about graham crackers), yet the crêpes are so tender and have such a deliciously nutty flavor that you'd never guess they're actually good for you. The marshmallow filling may be homemade or store-bought. Raspberries are optional, but I bet you'll find they add a welcome hit of color and tang. Intrigued by the whole-wheat flour in the crêpes? Read my rant about white flour and my tips for using whole-wheat flour on the Gourmet Live blog. Then check out the 05.11.11 issue of Gourmet Live to read about my on-again, off-again affair with crêpes.

(Margaritas de Tunas) Cactus fruits, also known as "prickly pears," are any number of fruit nodules that grow wild on the nopales cactus in the deserts of Mexico and the southwestern United States. Although prickly pear juice is sold in bottles, nothing compares to the sweet taste of their fresh flesh and spitting out the numerous seeds. My dad taught me how to peel the fruits: Hold them with a pair of thick leather or work gloves, cut off both ends, cut a slit down the length of the fruit, then remove the prickly skins with a pair of tongs. Although they come in a variety of flavors and colors, I find the ones with the bright pink flesh to be the most tasty and the drinks from them come out more festive looking, too.

The subtle taste of pumpkin merges effortlessly with coconut milk in this classic Italian dessert that provides a taste of fall flavors.