Bean and Legume

Judi Kerr of Mendham, New Jersey, writes: "I'm a professional chocolate taster. I know it sounds like a dream job, but I get so much chocolate at work that I tend to avoid sweets when I'm at home. At the end of most days, I actually look forward to cooking dinner and making something hearty, like my chicken and white bean chili."

Since lima and fava beans have a shorter growing season than most local tomatoes, we've given frozen edamame, available year-round, as an alternative to make this recipe more versatile.

This is the ultimate party dish because you can add it to your spread in no time flat. Almost everything for this mini meal comes out of a bag or a can, but brightening up the dish with some fresh cilantro makes it taste and look really fresh. A few minutes in the microwave makes everything warm and gooey.

Liz and Kurt Gruber of Bellevue, Washington, write: "We really enjoyed the mulligatawny soup we had at Shamiana in nearby Kirkland. Could you get the recipe?"

Beans take well to salad dressings, herbs, peppers, onions, and garlic, but be sure to warm the beans before dressing them so they will absorb these added flavors.

Cut the green beans and bell pepper while the tofu marinates.

Italy meets Greece in a dish that pairs well with grilled lamb or chicken. What to drink: A crisp Pinot Grigio or Grüner Veltliner.

Greeks call puréed split peas fava, not to be confused with what we call fava beans. The combination of puréed split peas and honey-kissed eggplant compote makes for a very comforting dish.

Head north of Sunset, and you will happen upon this live-music supper club tucked away in the hills of tony Bel Air. The swank venue features a stage surrounded by tables where you can spy toe-tapping regulars such as Nicolette Sheridan and Virginia Madsen taking in the soulful jazz tunes. You can make a meal of chef Sharon Funt's delicious flatbread appetizer; each serving provides more than 8 grams of fiber.

Healthy bonus: Fiber and protein from lentils; vitamin A from carrots