1 cup wheat berries (soaked overnight and drained)
3 cups water
sea salt
1 large (2 pound) acorn squash, halved lengthwise, seeds scooped out
2 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons maple syrup
nonstick cooking spray
freshly ground black pepper
6 cups green leaf lettuce, cleaned and dried
¼ cup scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup Go-To Vinaigrette
¼ cup pecans, toasted
1 ounce blue cheese, crumbled
¼ cup dried cranberries

Combine wheat berries and water with a pinch of salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until tender. Drain off any excess water and set aside.

While wheat berries are cooking, preheat oven to 400. Place squash halves flesh side down in a microwave safe dish and cover with a paper towel. Microwave on high for 12 minutes (if your microwave doesn’t have a rotating dish, rotate the plate every 2 minutes). Remove squash (be careful of steam) to a cutting board and let cool flesh side up until cool enough to handle (1-2 minutes). Carefully cut into 1/2-inch wedges and peel off skin. Microwave the butter and syrup in a bowl for 30 seconds and stir to mix.

Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Lay the squash wedges down, brush with maple glaze and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Flip and repeat on the other side. Bake for 5 minutes. Carefully flip wedges over and bake another 5-6 minutes.

While squash is cooking, mix together lettuce, scallions and drained wheat berries and toss with vinaigrette. Divide evenly onto four plates. Top with squash wedges, pecans, crumbled blue cheese, cranberries and a twist of freshly ground black pepper.

Serves 4

1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 cup onion, diced (roughly 1/3 of a large onion)
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups orange-fleshed sweet potato (also called garnet yams), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (2 pounds, or roughly 2 large sweet potatoes)
¾ teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
sea salt
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ cup cilantro, chopped

Heat peanut oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, sweet potatoes, coriander, cumin and a pinch of salt. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until onions are translucent.

Pour in 2 cups broth and peanut butter and stir until smooth. Add remaining broth, tomato paste and pepper flakes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, until sweet potatoes are soft, but not mushy. Season with additional salt (amount will depend on how salty your peanut butter is … you should add enough so that the flavors “pop,” but it doesn’t taste overtly salty).

Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serves 6

1 large melon (any variety as long as it’s super fresh and ripe–the one pictured here is Gaia), peeled and seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch chunks (should have 6-8 cups)
1 lemon, juiced
coarse sea salt (my choice is Maldon)
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

Toss melon with lemon juice and spoon into bowls. Sprinkle sparingly with salt and cayenne.

Serves 4

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

My husband claims to not be very fond of egg salad . . . but he loves deviled eggs. I, on the other hand, can’t be bothered with filling those fragile egg white shells. So this is my compromise. An egg salad that tastes like deviled eggs (with a little added heft from minced celery). Heaven.

4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and mashed
2 tablespoons red onion, minced
1/4 cup celery, minced
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
dash of Tabasco to taste

Mix together all ingredients together. Serve scooped onto crackers and dusted with additional paprika, or in whole wheat pitas lined with lettuce.

Serves 4

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

4 ounces thick-cut bacon, chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1/4 cup sherry
2 cups lentils (brown or green)
4 cups chicken stock
1-1/2 cups water
1-1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
20 juniper berries, crushed
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Finely chopped parsley, for garnish

Cook bacon in a large saucepan over medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes or until the bacon is crisp and has rendered its fat. Remove bacon from pot with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings behind. Drain bacon on a paper towel.

Increase heat to medium-high. Add onion, celery and carrot to pot; saute 3 minutes or until tender. Add sherry, scrapping bottom to loosen any browned bits. Cook 2 minutes or until sherry is nearly evaporated. Stir in lentils. Add stock, water, thyme and juniper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 1 hour or until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer 2 cups soup to a blender or food processor; puree until smooth (or use an immersion blender to puree part of the soup in the pan). Return to pot. Serve garnished with bacon and parsley.

Serves 6

1 (10-ounce) celeriac bulb, well scrubbed
12 radishes
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shaved pecorino Romano cheese
2 tablespoons white truffle oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

Use a mandoline or Japanese slicer to shave the celeriac and radishes paper-thin. Combine in a large bowl. Whisk together the oil, juice, salt and pepper. Drizzle over the celeriac and radishes; toss to combine. Let stand 5 minutes. Toss in the cheese and parsley. Mound salad on a serving platter; sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

Serves 4-6

2 unpeeled onions, halved and studded with 3 cloves apiece
5 large cloves garlic, unpeeled
7 pounds beef bones
3 pounds chicken carcasses
6 quarts cold water
2 carrots, chopped into 3 pieces each
8 whole star anise
1 cinnamon stick
2 inch piece of ginger, bruised with the heel of your knife
5 dried Asian red chiles
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup fish sauce
6 ounces rice vermicelli, cooked 3 minutes in boiling water and drained
2 chicken breast halves, cut into paper thin slices across the grain (freeze for 20 minutes to make slicing easier)
1/4 cup cilantro
1/2 cup green onion, thinly sliced
1 lime, cut into 8 wedges

Char the onions and garlic in a large stockpot over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes, until well-colored but not burnt.  Add the beef bones, chicken carcasses and water and bring to a boil. Skim off the foam, gray crud and fat as they rise to the surface. Boil for 45 minutes to an hour, or until there isn’t much foam being produced any longer.

Add carrots, star anise, cinnamon, ginger, chiles and salt and lower heat so the broth gurgles a few times each second. Let the broth cook at this low heat overnight or for an least 8 hours.

Skim broth one more time and strain through a fine mesh strainer (a Chinois or “China cap”), or a colander lined with cheesecloth. Stir in fish sauce. Rinse out the pot, return the broth to the pot, and bring back to a boil before serving.

To serve, divide vermicelli, chicken breast, cilantro and green onion between 8 large bowls. Ladle broth into each and finish with a squeeze of lime.

Serves 8

2 Revelationary Duck Confit legs
1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 heads frisée
1/4 cup Mustard-Shallot Vinaigrette
2 cups All-Purpose French Lentils

Place duck legs in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat and crisp on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Remove to a cutting board, pull meat from bone and shred. Add onion to pan and sauté for 5 minutes, until golden brown.

In the meantime, toss the frisée with the vinaigrette and mound into 4 bowls. Scatter with lentils, onions and duck and serve.

Serves 4