Salad

A host of fresh herbs—mint, cilantro, and parsley—plus ginger and lemon zest add refreshing zip to this grain salad.

Cook barley until chewy and tender, then top with an assortment of crisp, golden brown mushrooms that have been pan-seared and basted in a fragrant, thyme-infused butter.

The broccoli should still have snap and crunch after charring.

If you're ever cornered by a bland bowl of vegetables or whole grains, throw a handful of herbs on it. They instantly make the meal more beautiful and flavorful—without adding any salt, fat, or sugar.

Smaller beets are ideal for this since the rounds will fit neatly on the end of a fork.

Try this tossed with cooked soba noodles or drizzled over seared salmon.

Try this drizzled over roasted potatoes or as a sub for mayo in chicken salad.

This fresh take on tabbouleh eliminates the bulgur entirely and uses the golden seeds of millet instead, which give a nutty, cornlike taste to the salad. (Here's how to master millet). But it's really all about the green herbs: Feel free to add too many!

I get a lot of inspiration from staring at the supermarket shelves, and seeing what items are grouped together. I made this recipe because I found the smoked oysters next to the anchovies in the canned fish section and decided to try them out instead in my Caesar dressing. Once I did that, I decided to riff on the croutons a bit too. In this recipe, the smoky oysters complement the rich egg yolks, which in turn get cut by a healthy dose of lemon juice. Do you like other canned fishies? All are good Caesar salad material, providing they are packed in oil, which amps up their flavor almost to a condiment level of oomph. If you want to get real crazy, find the canned seafood section in an ethnic market.

You'll make more dressing than you need for one batch of salad with this recipe, but that's a good thing.

This simple, light salad showcases the beauty of winter vegetables and makes an elegant start to a festive holiday meal.