Characteristic: template

The only thing you need to have thought of in advance is to have made more rice than you needed for an earlier meal so that you have leftover rice ready, whether in the fridge or freezer. It matter little whether you use white or brown rice, short or long grain. I always make more rice than I need at any given time and then freeze the rest for the fried-rice-nights. Or make it in the morning and leave it sitting out all day and then you’ll have nicely dried out rice for the fried rice that evening.   Variations You can use most any vegetable you have on hand such as, broccoli, celery, Brussels sprouts, daikon, bell pepper, radish, and/or water chestnuts. Watery vegetables, like zucchini and tomatoes, are less well suited. Use a handful of radishes, chopped or a few salad turnips, chopped, in place of the carrots. If you don't have turnip tops, use beet greens, bok choi or any leafy green, you have. Snap or snow peas are great instead of shelling peas. Add any leftover meat you'd like or dice a couple slices of bacon or half a chicken breast and cook with the vegetables before adding rice. Add toasted peanuts or cashews for crunch and heft. Delicious herbs to add, in place of or with, cilantro are mint or basil ... Read more »

Dumplings are simple to stir together and if you happen to have sourdough starter on hand, you can employ some of it to make them extra bouncy and moist. The fresh herbs make them particularly flavorful. You can cook dumplings in most any soup, so this is just a suggested combination. Vary the beans, vegetables, stock and herbs to suit your taste and pantry.   Variations Incorporate different beans by using various or a combination of butter beans, cannellini beans, great northern beans, navy beans, garbanzo beans, and/or black eye peas. Red or black beans can be substituted or added to the dish, as well. Cooked or canned beans (drain if using the latter) work well when limited on time. Add them to the soup during the last 10 minutes of cooking. Soaked, and drained, beans, as described below, are highly nutritious and delicious. Great herbs to use, in any combination, is parsley, dill, cilantro, chives, tarragon.  ... Read more »

This is a quick and flavorful dish. You can you use leftover flank steak or even substitute other meat, leftover or cooked for this purpose. The vegetables, and ratio of vegetables to meat are up to you. In this version, I used cabbage, carrots, and scallions (reserving most of the scallion tops for garnish).   Variations  Most any vegetable (except for tomatoes and maybe winter squash), chopped finely, will work such as kale, bok choi, broccoli, turnips, peppers, etc. You can use bavette, skirt or round steak in place of the flank or substitute the steak, all together, for chicken or shrimp. ... Read more »

Lentils and rice are a lovely combination and celery root (celeriac) adds another layer of earthy sweetness. A dash of your favorite vinegar at the end will balance things out if it's too sweet. I've used the tiny black caviar lentils in this version but small French Green lentils work perfectly as well.   Variations You can certainly substitute potatoes, sweet potatoes, or even parsnips for the celery root. In place of the black lentils, you can use small French green lentils or any small lentil that holds its shape when cooked Other delicious rice choices include arborio rice or brown rice. Veggie bouillon or NoBull scratch starter--the mushroom flavor is particularly good in this dish, are great substitutions for the water or broth. ... Read more »

Whether you add the chorizo (or other sausage or meat) or not, this long-cooked deeply flavored sauce-y stew is fantastic. You can also decrease the cooking time and still get good results.   Variations Can serve on top of rice, boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes and turnips, or as is, with a salad. Can substitute or add other meats such as ground turkey or chicken seasoned with smoked paprika (pimenton), chili powder, or any hot pepper If desired, water, veggie or chicken broth all make a great substitute for the chickpea cooking liquid. ... Read more »

When you have a flavorful pesto or sauce on hand or have a few minutes to make one, it can turn most anything into a delicious dish. This is the pumpkin seed and cilantro/parsley pesto thinned down with plain yogurt, over blanched/boiled (an underrated cooking technique!) or roasted cauliflower, garnished with more toasted pumpkin seeds.   Variations Many different base vegetables can be used such as broccoli, roasted winter squash, cabbage, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc. Roast the cauliflower instead of boiling if you'd like.   ... Read more »

Often my dinner-cooking plans take a detour because I run out of time. I imagine I'm going to develop something new and creative. . . and sometimes those running-out-of-time meals are the best. This one was enjoyed by all and is definitely a winning template. Use whatever vegetables you have and cut them small or grate them for quicker cooking time. Serve with cheesy toast or any good bread, toasted if a little stale.   Variations You can use vegetables like carrots, zucchini, winter squash, turnips, potatoes, etc. Change or omit the spices, use sausages instead of eggs, or add a couple of cups of beans. ... Read more »

This is hearty, savory and very adaptable. This dish materialized thanks to already cooked farro and a variety of vegetables in need of using up, including cauliflower leaves. If your grains are already cooked this comes together quite quickly. I had some homemade harissa on hand which elevated it further. I topped this particular version with meatballs.   Variations Make this your own with whatever grain you'd like--spelt, barley, rye, wheat berries and different spices. Vegetables like collard greens and kale are great to use in place of or with the cauliflower leaves and spices. ... Read more »

This is a flavorful meal, employing the same, simple sauce to cook both the fish and the quinoa (or other grain).   Variations: Substitute different kinds of fish or even shrimp. Substitute basil and/or a small amount of mint for the cilantro and parsley. Substitute rice or other grain for the quinoa. Bake it instead of cooking on stove top and so on and so forth. ... Read more »

In late summer I often roast and process peppers of various kinds together with a few tomatillos into a flavorful sauce. I thinned out this sauce to make a dressing for this template of a salad. Feel free to use a typical vinaigrette instead and feel free to change up the beans, vegetables, to suit your needs. You could by all means add bacon too!... Read more »

[caption id="attachment_14077" align="aligncenter" width="628"] Served with meatballs loaded with cilantro and dill and dill aioli.[/caption] This feels like an elegant dish thanks to the lemon and dill but is very simple and suitable to a variety of vegetables. Any combination of sweet and hot peppers would be good.   Variation You could add diced summer squash, or greens beans, or fava beans, or peas or fennel Instead of water, you can liven up the dish by using vegetable broth or veggie bouillon. ... Read more »

In late summer, early fall when peppers of all kinds are abundant I make a sauce like this when I have a few minutes to spare. I usually don't have a specific plan for using it but it never lasts long. It makes a great (fairly spicy) dip but also a wonderful base for a salad dressing or topping for roasted vegetables or meats or is delicious stirred into eggs or beans or even spread on a sandwich.   This is quite similar to this tomatillo-based salsa, however the high percentage of Anaheim (Poblano would work too) peppers here gives it a richer flavor.  You can vary the ratio of peppers to tomatillos to suite your taste and/or what you have on hand. It's a very flexible sauce that is a good template for most any pepper, sweet or hot.... Read more »

Most any greens are delicious simply sautéed with garlic and finished with a little lemon juice. Sweet potato greens are no exception! The lemon balances their sweet earthiness nicely.   Variations You can use other greens such as swiss chard, kale, mustard greens, etc. ... Read more »

This is a quick, delicious side dish for which you can use most any tender, leafy green. For this version I used 1/2 tomato sauce 1/2 water as I had a little tomato sauce left over. It certainly added flavor but you can just use water or broth or any combination of liquid you like. [caption id="attachment_14030" align="aligncenter" width="624"] Sweet potato leaf couscous with salmon seasoned with salty, pulverized, dried tomato skins (leftover from canning sauce)[/caption]   Variations Can use other soft and tender leafy greens such as collard or mustard greens, kale, spinach, swiss chard ... Read more »

If you have a few minutes, toast whole cumin and coriander seeds in a dry skillet for about 90 seconds until toasty and pulverize in a mortar.   Variations You can substitute spinach or mustard greens here if you don't have sweet potato greens. Feel free to add some hot chilies, fresh or dried. ... Read more »

This is quick and delicious, and is a nice quick-cooking method good for any green like bok choi, tatsoi, beet greens, etc.... Read more »

Mid summer cucumbers, tomatoes and sweet, crunchy onions paired with salty savory feta and olives is really a wonderful thing. It may not be authentic but it will be delicious.   Use however much feta and olives you like. The ratio really should depend on your taste (or what you have on hand).   Variations I sometimes can't resist adding fresh mint, basil and even arugula. You could add corn, sweet and/or hot fresh peppers, or whatever else strikes your fancy ... Read more »

This is pretty quick to pull together and you can use whatever Asian green you have. You can also skip the rice noodles and serve the stir-fry over rice or soba or ramen noodles.   Variations You can use tatsoi, bok choi, mustard greens or even turnip tops, if you don't have komatsuna. Use lamb or pork instead of beef or use tofu, marinated in the sauce. ... Read more »

15 minutes, start to finish, adaptable and delicious and a good reason for having canned tomatoes and small pasta shapes in the pantry. You can use larger shapes and more of it (more like 3 cups of penne). [caption id="attachment_13629" align="aligncenter" width="438"] This version uses tender spring raab for the greens.[/caption]   Variations You can substitute cooked beans/chickpeas for the sausage, to make a meat-free version. You can use parsley instead of basil Delicious choices for tender greens are spring raab, spinach, chard, turnip, beet greens and/or tender kale greens. Enjoy in any combination. Use fresh tomatoes instead of canned Other great small noodle choices are Pipette rigate, Conchiglie (shell), or Orecchiette. ... Read more »

Talk about a template; minestrone is a bean and vegetable soup and, loosely defined, can use any bean, any shape of pasta (or no pasta), most any vegetable and herb, meat or no meat (diced bacon or a little sausage is good, added when cooking onions) be hearty and stew-like or light and brothy. For me, what makes or breaks minestrone are the beans and the bean broth. You can certainly use canned beans but home-cooked beans with their broth are what gives minestrone its richness and complexity.   Dishes like these are why I try to keep cooked beans (in their broth/cooking liquid) in the freezer and at the ready. It makes a soup like this, that cooks in 20 minutes, taste like it's been simmering for hours--in a good way!   Variations A variety of vegetables are well-suited for this recipe and can be used individually or in combination, such as: a bunch of leafy greens, such as chopped kale or spinach 2 cups trimmed and chopped greens beans 1 cup shelled peas and/or diced fennel 2 cups diced zucchini If adding pasta, use the smaller volume for small pasta shapes like tubes, as pictured, little elbows, orzo, or the larger shells, etc. Any type of garlic is great in this recipe, such as 1 head new garlic, 2 stalks green garlic or garlic scapes, thinly sliced. Vegetable broth or water are a great substitute for bean broth if unavailable or in a pinch. ... Read more »