Popeye would approve of my version of Dr. Seuss’s favorite dish, which includes spinach and green onions. To avoid cancer-causing nitrites, choose uncured ham. It is sold at natural foods markets and many supermarkets. If you do not eat pork, use turkey bacon instead. A one-dish meal, these colorful eggs make a hearty breakfast accompanied by whole-grain toast.
Fast Fact: Spinach is rich in beta-carotene as well as folate.
Quick Tip: For chopped spinach in seconds, grab a handful of raw leaves or cooked spinach and snip it into strips using kitchen shears.

If you’ve been to Michael Chiarello’s restautant, Tre Vigne, in California’s Napa Valley, or have seen his TV show on the Food Network, you may be enjoying his Italian cooking, which features big flavors and pleasing unexpected twists. In this salad, he skips the egg found in the classic Caesar dressing and then pairs this lighter dressing with an unusually full-bodied leafy salad. Anchovy lovers, this one’s for you!
Adapted from At Home with Michael Chiarello, by Michael Chiarello (Chronicle Books, 2005).

Fast Fact: Arugula gets its bite from health-promoting sulfur compounds related to those in watercress.
Quick Tip: This dressing likes to sit so that the garlic and anchovy flavors can bloom, so if possible, make it a day ahead. Remove from the refrigerator 1 hour before using to bring it to room temperature.

A Diane Chase original!

Instead of mixed greens, this makes a good first-course salad. It also goes well served with grilled or poached salmon or a butterflied leg of lamb.
Adapted from Salads, 150 Classic and Innovative Recipes for Every Course & Every Meal, by Leonard Schwartz (HarperCollins, 1992)
Fast Fact: Walnut oil contains the same beneficial omega-3 fatty acids as walnuts.
Quick Tip: Leftover dressing tossed with cold boiled potatoes makes a quick potato salad.

Sicilians serve cauliflower sautéed with onions, raisins, and capers as a topping over warm pasta. Eating some cold leftovers of the topping, I discovered that it also makes a good salad. Adding tuna turns it into a satisfying main dish.
Fast Fact: Mark Twain called cauliflower “cabbage with a college education.”
Quick Tip: Adding some lemon juice or vinegar to the water keeps cauliflower white when you cook it.

To make this smoky-flavored eggplant salad the center of a meal, serve it accompanied by oil-cured Moroccan black olives, feta cheese, and warmed pita breads. It also makes a great dip or even a filling for a sandwich. I like making it a day ahead to let the garlic flavor develop and meld with the other seasonings.
Fast Fact: Eggplants with a dimple in the bottom are female and have more seeds than the flat-bottomed male eggplants.
Quick Tip: To make this salad, I prefer using a golden olive oil that has the softer, more fruity flavor of ripe olives.

Two things stand out in this salad. One is its jewel-tone colors of bright green, ruby red, and pumpkin orange. The other is the balanced flavors of sweet-tart persimmons and pomegranates contrasting with the tangy blue cheese and the subtle bitterness of walnuts. A ripe Fuyu persimmon is vivid orange, firm to the touch, and slightly crisp when sliced.
Fast Fact: A persimmon provides 50 percent more fiber than a serving of oatmeal.
Quick Tip: To remove seeds from a pomegranate, cut it in half and place the halves in a bowl of cold water deep enough that the entire fruit is underwater. Run you fingers over the pale membrane to remove seeds; it won’t splatter because the juices stay underwater. Bits of membrane will float to the surface and can easily be discarded. Drain the seeds before using.

Naomi Duguid and Jeffrey Alford have trekked through most of Asia, photographing and cooking with tribesmen, local women, and street vendors, then sharing recipes from their adventures in award-winning cookbooks like Flatbreads and Flavors (William Morrow, 1995) and Mangoes and Curry Leaves (Artisan, 2005). I think they will forgive me for adding green beans and straw mushrooms to their recipe for the nourishing but minimal vegetable soup they ate at a truck-stop on the Plain of Jars in Laos.
Adapted from Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Tour Through Southeast Asia, by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid (Artisan, 2000).

Fast Fact: In Asia, fish sauce is considered so indispensable in dishes that many vegetarian cooks use it
Quick Tip: For variety, make this soup using prepared mushroom broth or instant miso.

This creamy purée shows how using fruit in savory soups adds a nice, mellow flavor. Pears, because they are high in fiber, add body, too. If you buy the squash pre-cut, this soup is a good choice when you are entertaining because it is rich enough to be special while it lets you devote more time to other preparations. Chefs use leeks frizzled in a little oil to garnish dishes and add pungent flavor.
Fast Fact: While higher in fat than milk, cream is far lower in sugar and carbs.
Quick Tip: Large leeks tend to be woody, so buy them an inch or less in diameter.

Aficionados of Portuguese cooking will recognize this chunky soup as a classic with a twist. For the sausage, instead linguiça, found only in Portuguese-American neighborhoods, I use kielbasa because it is widely available and adds a delicious smoky flavor. Spanish chorizo or Italian sausage work well, too. I also make a vegetarian version, using smoked tofu or seared cubed tempeh in place of the meat.
Fast Fact: Yellow-fleshed potatoes contain small amounts of lutein and zeaxanthin, forms of carotene that are good for the eyes.
Quick Tip: For maximum flavor with less fat and no nitrites, look for the cooked turkey kielbasa from Wellshire Farms.