A reminder of just how good simple, steamed vegetables can be.

Cold soba noodles with a big dollop of ginger-scallion paste for the flight to Tokyo, plus pics from Japan, and a link to a few favorite spots in Tokyo.

A round-up of a my favorite soups from the archives - the ones that really stood out, the ones I love to revisit.

Pungent, herby, and assertive, this is an incredibly versatile sauce. From Deborah Madison's new book, Vegetable Literacy, it's made with pounded capers, walnuts, green olives, and a load of herbs - the perfect slather for everything from sandwiches and pasta to egg salad and vegetables.

A quick lunchtime brown rice bowl with kale, capers, salted yogurt, za'atar, toasted sesame seeds - and a poached egg for good measure.

A simple breakfast bowl made with Greek yogurt, fresh pomegranate juice, puffed quinoa cereal, toasted sunflower seeds, and honey.

A beauty of a carrot salad - tricked out with chickpeas, chunks of dried pluots, sliced almonds, and a toasted cumin dressing. Thank you Diane Morgan.

Posole for the new year - it has a vegetable broth base, lots of blossoming corn kernels, avocado and mung beans. Topped with chopped olives and toasted almonds it's A+...

Roasted delicata squash and kale tossed w/ orzo pasta & salted yogurt dressing & I try to answer a few questions about living with marble kitchen counter tops.

The sort of winter salad I love - heirloom apples, shaved celery, and toasted nuts of your choosing. The dressing is crème fraîche spiked with rosemary, garlic and champagne vinegar

A simple one-pan broccoli recipe I've made no less than three times in the past ten days - Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, orange juice, and oregano.

Whole Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scones - golden-crusted, tender, moist, barely sweet, and streaked with violet swaths and chunks of blackberry. They're beautiful.

A shredded green salad bulked out with blanched broccoli, avocado, pistachios, a bit of feta, and tossed with a tarragon balsamic vinaigrette & pics from a special visit to Anokhi cafe and HQ in Jaipur.

The pumpkin soup I made as soon as I got home from India - with an herby butter drizzle and lemon ginger pulp. And some pictures of a photo session on the street in Jaipur.

A beautiful fattoush recipe and a preview of Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's new book, Jerusalem.

A fennel mushroom recipe inspired by one of my vintage cookbooks, The Seasonal Kitchen by Perla Meyers. It's a simple, brilliant twist on everyday sauteed mushrooms with dill, chives, fresh fennel, and a kiss of creme fraiche.

A simple savory tomato tarte tatin made with ripe market tomatoes, plenty of caramelized onions, a wee splash of balsamic vinegar, and whatever pie dough you might have on hand (or in the freezer)...

My favorite tomato salad this year - made with roasted and ripe tomatoes, capers, mozzarella, almonds, and chives.

Big bowl of green - broccolini tossed with big croutons, tons of scallion slices, mozzarella, toasted almonds, and a hit of serrano pepper.

This is how I like to cook saag paneer - chopped spinach, golden-crusted paneer cheese, assertively spices, and finished with toasted sesame seeds and fresh lemon juice.

A simple tomato soup recipe inspired by a Melissa Clark recipe - pureed, warmly spiced, and perfect topped with everything from toasted almonds and herbs, to coconut cream or a poached egg.

A few snapshots from my week in Marrakesh, Morocco + the recipe for a platter of roasted vegetables spiced with dried mint, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, and a kiss of chile. So good with a dollop of salted yogurt and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.

A hot, filling, wintertime DIY four-grain breakfast cereal that you can trick out with all sorts of different toppings.

Inspired by a recipe in Bryant Terry's new cookbook, The Inspired Vegan. Roasted winter squash (and tofu) with a miso, maple, sesame, citrus sauce.

A hearty black bread - caraway-crusted, and flecked with dashes of grated carrot. It's dark, dense with rye, and perfect when toasted then topped with a fat smear of dill butter.

A few outtakes from the winter Kinfolk magazine shoot/article I worked on with Wayne. Plus the Green Lentil Soup with Curried Brown Butter featured in the photos.

A wintertime riff on potato salad. No potatoes though, just winter squash, a beer-based dressing, rosemary, walnuts, currants, and celery.

Soba noodles tossed with a creamy-ginger dressing and topped with crispy tofu, tarragon, and toasted delicata squash seeds.

An earthy, turmeric and mustard-spiked lentil soup served over brown rice with spinach and thick yogurt.

While in London my friend Anna Jones gave me a copy of the terrific new book she worked on - this broccoli-basil crusted mac and cheese immediately caught my attention.

A sweet little buttermilk pie I made. The filling is pure, creamy, maple-kissed tanginess, and simple to pull together.

A tortilla salad made from all sorts of good stuff - heirloom beans, avocado, watermelon radish, and cauliflower. Electric colors, punchy dressing, fresh and filling.

The perfect simple, spinach side dish - toast a few spices, add a pile of shredded spinach to the skillet, and finish things off with a burst of lemon juice and some shredded coconut.

A thick, cumin and coriander-spiced root vegetable stew. It's a free-wheeling one-pot dinner that attempts to use up whatever winter vegetables I have lingering about.

A baked farro risotto recipe - lemon-kissed, bright tomato sauce, lots of Parmesan, and chopped fresh oregano.

A rustic leek soup topped with an electric green drizzle of dill oil and crunchy toasted almonds.

A cardamom-kissed, brown sugar crusted, squash-battered spice cake. Made with brown butter and a bit of leftover winter squash.

A rustic oat soda bread you can make in less than an hour. Seriously. Made from a simple ingredient list of rolled oats, flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk.

An amazing New Year Noodle Soup from Greg & Lucy Malouf's beautiful book, Saraban. It's a bean and noodle soup at its core featuring thin egg noodles swimming in a fragrant broth spiced with turmeric, cumin, chiles, and black pepper. You use a medley of lentils, chickpeas, and borlotti beans which makes the soup heart and filling without being heavy. You add spinach, dill, and cilantro. You add lime juice for a bit of sour at the end. And then you've got a number of toppings to add when you serve the soup - chopped walnuts, caramelized onions, and sour cream. Amazing.

A cold-weather crowd-pleaser made of alternating layers of broken farro pasta, sliced potatoes, two cheeses, and mustardy shredded cabbage. The sort of thing you can prep a day or two ahead of time, and then bake when convenient.

Savory muffins packed with spinach, feta and Parmesan cheeses, black pepper, mustard, and sunflower seeds. Adapted from a recipe in a lovely little self-published Australian cookbook, Martha Goes Green.

In a Indian spiced departure from a favorite Suzanne Goin recipe - this is a rustic, deeply flavorful summer gratin made with sliced tomatoes, potatoes, caramelized onions, curry powder, and a kick of red chile flakes.

I used my friend Molly Watson's recipe as a jumping off point here, and ended up with a roasted squash salad of sorts. It uses the pretty, scalloped-edged cross-cuts of the delicata squash, a few small potatoes, chopped kale, radishes, Marcona almonds - and a bold miso harissa dressing.

Inspired by a recipe in The Complete Tassajara Cookbook, a warm winter salad made from sauteed shredded red cabbage. Feta, balsamic vinegar, and golden raisins make it sweet and salty, rich with color, texture and flavor.

A shredded brussels sprout salad recipe, slaw-like in spirit, accompanied by lots of toasted hazelnuts, and shard after shard of aged cheese. The sprouts are tossed with a few glugs of olive oil and a big squeeze of fresh, fragrant lemon juice.

A remix of the mushroom casserole I loved as a kid. Brown rice, mushrooms, garlic, onions along side a bit of cottage cheese and sour cream and Parmesan for texture and creaminess.

Shredded brussels sprout ribbons, apples, garlic, pine nuts, and tofu in a skillet with a hint of maple syrup.

A roasted pumpkin salad made with wild rice, tiny, caramelized red onions drizzled with a simple, honey-kissed, creamy sunflower seed dressing. A colorful harvest salad perfect for Fall festivities.

A great broccoli recipe, one of my favorites! Tiny green florets, crisp apples, crunchy shallots, candied nuts and slivered red onions are tossed in a barely sweet, creamy almond vinaigrette. Add baked tofu or pan-fried tempeh and you can easily turn this side into a main course.