Vegan

Use a mixture of green and black olives such as picholine, Niçois, and Kalamata. Soaking the olives in water for ten minutes removes excess salt.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 25 min

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 20 min

Don't waste your time looking for green peas in this recipe. In Jamaica, you'll often hear kidney beans called peas. Locals consume "rice and peas" so frequently that some people say it should be on the nation's coat of arms. In this version — which Lezlene Brown, a cook at a villa in Ocho Rios, serves to guests and family — the Scotch bonnet chile is there to contribute only the merest hint of heat and to amplify the flavors of the other ingredients.

Ambrosia is fruit dessert that is also a salad. We Southerners always add it to Thanksgiving and Christmas menus to allow us to have the illusion that we're not in too much trouble with our diets, because after all, "We only had ambrosia for dessert!" The better the oranges in it, the better it is. Splurge and get flavor-filled navel oranges if you can. In any case, seedless oranges are a must. If there are going to be children at the meal, you can add maraschino cherries—sans stems. My mother always did, perhaps because one of my treasured memories from childhood was when my father took me to the men's club and ordered me a Shirley Temple with a maraschino cherry. I ate nearly a whole bottle, thanks to the indulgent waiter.

If I could use only one marinade for the rest of my life, it would be this one. Redolent with garlic, piquant with fresh lemon juice, and fragrant with extra virgin olive oil, it instantly transports you to the Mediterranean. I can't think of a single food that doesn't taste better bathed in it. You can use it as both a marinade and a basting sauce. If marinating poultry, meat, or seafood, simply set a portion aside for basting.

Judy Rodgers is currently working on a cookbook from her Zuni Café in San Francisco. Grilling the mushrooms for this salad (which will appear in the new book) intensifies their flavor. Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 35 min

An overnight pickling tames the red onions.

Preserved lemons, sold ready-made in Moroccan souks, are essential to that country's cuisine. The peel, pulp, and juice squeezed from the lemons can all be used. Sometimes, however, the juice and preserving brine, can be bitter; use fresh lemon juice in that case.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Steamed cauliflower florets, broccoli florets and carrot slices are mixed with olives and tossed with a sun-dried tomato and oregano vinaigrette in this Italian-inspired starter "from the garden."

Radicchio, snow peas and a tangy sesame oil dressing give an old-fashioned dish a delicious new flavor.

Pan-roasting the vegetables imparts an earthy sweetness to this dish.

A Dijon mustard vinaigrette brings all the flavors together. If you can't find basmati rice, white long-grain rice is fine.

Use this for the Springtime Sushi Nests or for any sushi recipe.

Whole cumin seeds and paprika add wonderful flavors to roasted potatoes.

Take these olives along on your next picnic.