Ginger

Garam masala is the basic mix of Indian spices. You can purchase it at ethnic or health food stores. Use your favorite chile pepper in this dish. Jalapeños work fine, as do Anaheim or other green chiles, or even red pepper flakes if that’s what you have in your cupboard. For additional garnishing, use sprigs of fresh mint or cilantro. If your diet is dairy-free, try this recipe with plain soy yogurt.

We love how crisp and tasty the ingredients in this dish turn out when you stir-fry them. Stir-frying is a great way to make a healthy meal. And using fresh ginger adds an irresistible kick—as well as an aroma that will call everybody to the table. Put on a pot of white rice as you start cooking, and dinner will be as fast as it is flavorful.

Here’s a simple Japanese way with cooked rice that Hiroko Shimbo showed me when I asked her one day what she would do with leftover rice. It’s called sushi salad because it’s made with sushi rice. As Hiroko points out so persuasively in her book The Sushi Experience, it’s the rice that makes it sushi, not all the various garnishes or tasty bits that are wrapped—or, in this case, tossed—in the seasoned rice. This is one of those dishes that are subject to variations depending on the season, but it’s hard to improve on the following intoxicatingly delicious summer version.

Stir-frying a combination of vegetables quickly in a small wok gives them a more intense flavor and a pleasing texture, and they benefit from being cooked together. It’s a good way to use small amounts of vegetables you may have stored away. You can mix and match as you wish, aiming for good color and flavor complements. You can even poach an egg on top of your stir-fry (see page 105).

Steamed mussels make a lovely dish to eat alone slowly, plucking the plump flesh from the shells as messily as you like and sopping up the heavenly liquor with chunks of French bread.

Those little bits of fish that you didn’t finish, or that you purposely put aside for another meal, take on new life in these scrumptious fish cakes. My rule of thumb is to use equal parts cooked fish and potatoes. If the fish you are using has been fried, scrape off the crusty exterior, because you want the cakes to be smooth inside.

Lamb shanks lend themselves to slow cooking, so I like to make this hearty dish-in-one on a weekend and then have it later in the week in a second incarnation. Shanks are often found two to a package in the supermarket, so it’s less hassle to buy the whole package and enjoy them twice. I’ve adapted this recipe from Claudia Roden, who taught me always to have a jar of my own preserved lemons in the fridge to give that final spark to so many Middle Eastern and North African dishes, and I’ve followed her advice.

What better wintertime breakfast could there possibly be? The best part of this recipe, in my opinion, is that it delivers on all your gingerbread fantasies in a quick and easy way that sidesteps the comparative fuss of pulling together a full gingerbread loaf. Sheepishly, I’ll admit it here and now: I have been known, on occasion, to abandon the maple syrup and instead douse these with vanilla frosting or glaze . . . for breakfast. Give me the benefit of the doubt before you judge, please, and try it for yourself.

I love the refreshing flavor and heat of fresh ginger and this soup shows it off beautifully, especially if you use the full three tablespoons of ginger listed below. It even causes a pleasant burn in the back of your throat. If you prefer a little less assertiveness, use just two tablespoons. Either way, keep in mind that ginger becomes more pronounced over time, so although the soup stores very well, the ginger’s bite will become stronger. Many recipes for carrot and other pureed vegetable soups call for toppings of one kind or another, but I really prefer to let the natural flavors of the soup and veggies shine through, so I skip them. You can always top with a scattering of whatever fresh herb is in the soup, though, which is very pretty and highlights the flavors already in the soup. Be sure to cook the carrots until they are very tender so that they’ll puree to a silky smooth soup.

The ideal size for the collards here is nine inches long. If substituting larger leaves, blanch them a bit longer and continue to sauté them until tender, adding a little water or stock if necessary.

This recipe makes a little more ginger syrup than is needed for the sorbet and will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks. It makes an unexpected spring cocktail combined with muddled fresh strawberries, lime juice, and vodka and served over ice.