Corn

For cool contrast to the spicy soup, serve an orange, red onion and avocado salad sprinkled with ground cumin, fresh lime juice and olive oil. Complete the main course with corn bread, and end with vanilla pudding topped with cocoa powder and chopped pecans.

Sliced avocado and purchased salsa are great additions to this Tex-Mex entrée. Let guests assemble their own tacos.

All the flavor of individual tamales, but much easier to make.

This salad's delicious dressing is popular with my children as a dip for vegetables (I make a bottle of it to keep in the refrigerator). The salad is great for lunch boxes, or as a side dish served warm or cold. Use three-color pasta, if possible. Preparation: 10 minutes/Cooking: 12 minutes Nutritional information: Rich source of beta-carotene, fiber, and folic acid

Al Forno restaurant put Providence on the culinary map, and grilled pizza-invented there by chef George Germon had a lot to do with it. Here's one to make at home.

If smoked paprika isn't available, substitute four teaspoons of chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, which are available at Latin American markets, specialty foods stores, and in the Latin American foods section of many supermarkets.

It's actually a clam boil, and it’s prepared on the stove top. The secret is to layer the ingredients, like clams, lobsters, potatoes, and sausages, in one pot so that the flavors mingle during cooking.

Simmering cobs in the corn-broth mixture gives the soup extra flavor.

The crust of this tart is tender and quite crumbly.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

You can serve these with bacon for breakfast, but they're also a nice side dish with steak or other meats.