Per serving: calories 206, fat 13.1g, 54% calories from fat, cholesterol 15mg, protein 10.3g, carbohydrates 14.6g, fiber 2.4g, sugar 3.8g, sodium 352mg, diet points 5.2.

Traditional Shepherd’s Pie is usually made with ground meat and white potatoes. I like this one because it has sweet potatoes mixed in and omits the meat filling. The curried lentil filling is sandwiched between two layers of creamy potato filling sitting on a crouton crust baked on top of sweet zucchini. I serve this as an entree with a simple chopped tomato salad.

This lush smooth soup from Thai-Lao cuisine lends itself beautifully to a Thanksgiving feast. Large wedges of cooking pumpkin, with pale gray-green skins, are sold in Caribbean and Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian groceries. Choose the pumpkin with the reddest flesh. You can also use North American pumpkin or kabocha squash.

Key spice: Panch Phanon Mix, also known as Five Spice (do not substitute Chinese Five Spice!)
Equal proportions of whole cumin, fenugreek, anise, mustard, “Indian black
onion” seeds (kalunji). You will need to go to an Indian Store to get the last ingredient. It is not related to the onion.
There are three basic steps to this recipe: cooking the lentils in water, making a tomato/onion/ginger mush, and making a spiced oil.

These hash browns are the tastiest, crispiest breakfast potatoes I’ve ever had or made. They’re also great topped with a fried egg. (The secret is in the ricer.)