1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
2-1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
3 tablespoons sliced pitted Kalamata olives
3 tablespoons diced red onion
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
4 (6- to 8-inch) pitas with pockets
4 lettuce leaves
8 thin slices tomato (optional)

Whisk together the first 4 ingredients in a small bowl.

Combine chicken, bell peppers, olives and onion in a large bowl. Add feta and parsley, and toss gently. Add dressing, and toss to coat.

Place pitas on a work surface. Tuck 1 lettuce leaf into each pita. Spoon chicken salad equally into pita pockets. Add tomatoes, if using.

Serves 4

Adapted from 400 Best Sandwich Recipes (Robert Rose).

Place broth in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and stir in the couscous, chickpeas, pesto, 2 tablespoons basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Cover and let stand 10 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed. Adjust seasonings. Fluff with 2 forks, and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons basil.

Serves 4-6

Adapted from Ancient Grains for Modern Meals (Ten Speed Press).

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
2 garlic cloves
1 ounce fresh basil (about 1-1/2 cups loosely packed)
1/2 ounce fresh mint (about 3/4 cup loosely packed)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Fresh lemon juice, to taste
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place the nuts and garlic cloves in a food processor or blender; pulse until coarsely chopped. (Or make your pesto the old-school way and pound it in a mortar and pestle.) Add basil and mint; pulse until coarsely chopped. Add oil and juice to taste; pulse to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Yields 2/3 cup

2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup unsweetened carrot juice (freshly juiced or bottled)
1 cup unsweetened coconut water
3 high-quality lemon-ginger tea bags
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, cut into ¼-inch slices
2 dried chiles, halved
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 medium carrots, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 leek, white and light green parts only, washed and roughly chopped
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup silken tofu
1/4 cup unsweetened flake coconut, toasted
Zest of 1 lime

Combine first 3 ingredients in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Add tea bags, ginger and dried chiles. Reduce heat, and simmer at least 20 minutes.

Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add oil. Add carrots, celery, leek and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes or until onion is translucent.

Strain stock mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into the pot with the vegetables. If you like lots of ginger, add the ginger pieces. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5-7 minutes or until the carrots are tender. In two batches, puree soup in a blender or food processor with half the tofu per batch, until the soup is silky smooth. Return pureed soup to pot and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Ladle soup into soup bowls. Garnish evenly with toasted coconut and lime zest.

Serves 4-6

3 tablespoons white wine or Champagne vinegar
1/2 shallot, finely minced
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt, or more to taste, divided
1-1/4 teaspoons black pepper, divided
5 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1/2 pound napa cabbage (about 1/4 medium head), cored and cut into 1/4-inch shreds (you should have about 3 cups)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled blue cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
6 (6-ounce) firm white-fleshed fish fillets, such as halibut or sturgeon
6 whole-wheat hamburger buns, split horizontally

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a small bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, whisking to dissolve the sugar and salt. Whisk in 3 tablespoons oil. Set aside. (You can prepare the dressing up to 3 days in advance, storing it covered in the refrigerator.)

Combine the cabbage, cheese and mint in a large bowl. (You can prepare the undressed slaw up to 4 hours in advance, storing it covered in the refrigerator.) Add the dressing to the slaw mixture, gently tossing to combine. Taste, ideally with your wine, and add more vinegar, salt and/or pepper if you like. Set aside.

Preheat the grill to medium-high. Brush both sides of the fish with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and sprinkle with the remaining 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Grill until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. During the last minute, place the buns , cut side down, on the grill to toast.

Place the fish fillets on the bottom halves of the buns. Top with the slaw and the top halves of the buns, and serve.

Serves 6

Soup:
1 (4-pound) organic chicken, patted dry and giblets removed
6 cups chicken stock
6 cups water
1 large onion, quartered
1 (4-inch) piece kombu (optional)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
3 large carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds (about 1-1/2 cups)
2 celery stalks, diced (about 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 handful fresh dill, chopped
Cracked black pepper, to taste

Matzo balls:
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons seltzer water OR plain water
1 packet matzo ball mix (half a 5-ounce package)

Place chicken in a large stockpot with chicken stock, 6 cups water, onion, kombu (if using), garlic and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer over high heat, skimming any scum that floats to the surface. Add 1 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 2 hours. Continue to skim the surface of the broth occasionally to remove any scum that rises to the surface.

Meanwhile, make the matzo balls. Whisk eggs well in a small bowl. Whisk in oil and seltzer water. Stir in matzo ball mix. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool.

Strain stock (discard onion, kombu, garlic and bay leaf) and return to pot with carrots, celery and turmeric. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Discard skin from chicken and remove meat from the bones. Shred or chop the meat and add it to the pot. Season with additional salt and pepper. Raise heat to medium and bring soup back up to a gentle simmer.

With wet hands, form matzo ball mixture into smooth, compact 3/4- to 1-inch balls (you should have about 12-14). Drop matzo balls into simmering broth. Cook until fluffed up, about another 20 minutes. Don’t let soup come to a rolling boil or the matzo balls will fall apart. If little bits fall off the matzo balls, don’t worry. The bulk of the dumplings will remain intact.

Serve in bowls, garnished with dill.

Serves 6-8

1 bunch asparagus (I like fatter ones for this recipe), snapped where the stem naturally breaks
2 teaspoons peanut oil
fine sea salt
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon white miso
1 tablespoon lime juice (about half a lime)
1/2 teaspoon lime zest (also about half a lime)
dash of cayenne
coarse sea salt (like Maldon)

Preheat oven to 450. Toss asparagus with oil and a small pinch of salt and roast for 8-12 minutes, turning occasionally, until just tender. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes.

While asparagus is cooking, whisk together honey, miso, lime juice and lime zest. Add mixture to the asparagus and toss well to coat. Transfer asparagus to a serving plate and finish with a dash of cayenne and a sprinkle of Maldon.

Serves 4

1 (7-ounce) container Greek yogurt
1/4 cup finely chopped fennel
1 tablespoon cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice
Pinch ground cumin
Pinch of cayenne
Sea salt, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. yogurt, chopped fennel, mint, pinch of cumin, cayenne and 1/2 teaspoon lime juice in a small bowl.

Yields about 1 cup

1 cup red lentils, rinsed and sorted
2 cups chicken OR vegetable stock
1/2 cup water
1 small (1-inch) dried red chile pepper
2 tablespoons DIY Ghee, canola oil or coconut oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground fennel
1 small onion, thinly vertically sliced
1 carrot, julienne cut (a julienne peeler makes this an easy job)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Sea salt, to taste
1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
4 lime wedges

Combine lentils, stock and water in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 18 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Crush lentils with the back of a large spoon (or use an immersion blender to puree lentils to desired texture).

While the lentils simmer, place dried chile in a spice or coffee grinder; process to grind (or use a mortar and pestle). Heat ghee in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add ground chile, cumin, turmeric, coriander and fennel. Cook 1 minute or until fragrant. Add onion, carrot and garlic. Sprinkle with sugar. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 10 minutes, or until very tender. Season with salt to taste. Stir onion mixture, peas and lime juice into cooked lentils. Adjust seasoning. Serve lentils with lime wedges.

Serves 4

This recipe from Seattle Chef Tamara Murphy’s book Tender illustrates her straightforward approach to cooking peak-season ingredients. “I even do this when I’m camping,” she says. Foragers typically do a good job of cleaning up delicate wild mushrooms, so just use a brush or paper towel to gently wipe away any traces of dirt. Above all, keep mushrooms dry, Murphy cautions. “Mushrooms roast best when they’re clean and dry.” Here, I used a combination of baby shiitakes and chanterelles that I found at a local farmers’ market stand run by a chef who from Bavaria, Germany, where he used to trade beer for mushrooms. Your kitchen will smell fantastic as this bakes! These mushrooms make a terrific side dish, or you can sprinkle them over pizza or pasta, or layer them on crostini smeared with goat cheese.

1/2 pound fresh wild mushrooms, cleaned and sliced or quartered (you can leave very small mushrooms whole)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 sprig of fresh thyme
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Place all ingredients in the center of a 15-inch square piece of parchment paper (if your parchment paper is smaller, divide the mixture between two squares and add an extra sprig of thyme). Fold the edges, making sure they are sealed. Place the packet on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. It will puff majestically as it bakes.

Slide the packet onto a plate and slice it open just before serving.

Serves 3-4

Adapted from Tender (Shin Shin Chez).