Perhaps the best salad I've had in the past year. And, unless you absolutely loathe cilantro, you must try it. Simply cilantro leaves and stems tossed with a simple shallot-forward soy sauce dressing, plus peanuts, and asparagus. So good.

I posted a picture of my lunch the other day, and a few of you requested specifics - it was a spring soup made with a ginger & shallot coconut milk broth, spring vegetables, served over egg noodles.

Simple side - asparagus tossed with a garlicky buttermilk dressing, perky radish sprouts, lots of fresh cilantro, and a handful of cooked posole.

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

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.

Soba noodles and grilled tofu tossed with a garlic-cilantro dressing. I prepped all the components for this ahead of a camping trip, but you could take the same approach for a quick, mid-week lunch if camping isn't your thing.

This particular salad came together on a whim - slender, barely-cooked asparagus and carrots alongside lots of deeply toasted almond slices, tossed with a jalapeno-cilantro drizzle.

A salad made by pan-frying chickpeas with leeks and a bit of garlic. The creamy dressing is made with plain yogurt and curry powder, and the salad is finished off with plenty of chopped cilantro and chopped red onion.

A hearty adzuki and butternut squash soup recipe adapted from Jae Steele's Get It Ripe cookbook. The soup has a bit of chipotle flavor and is made even better with a drizzle of cilantro olive oil prior to serving.

A simple, last-minute curry recipe - curry powder in coconut milk, deeply toasted cashew nuts, a handful of green beans, two handfuls of tiny cauliflower florets, and a bit of tofu for good measure.

A simple, everyday approach to miso soup - it yields me a bowl of soup in five or ten minutes. You can keep it simple if you like, but in this version I add soba noodles and tofu, and a few garnishes.

Toasted wild nori alongside cilantro, tofu, and plenty of wild rice. The dressing for this salad isn't shy - assertive notes of sesame, ginger, cayenne pepper and soy sauce work their way into the wild rice and tofu. Lots of flavor.

A great pepita salad that can brighten up any table. Made from a simple combination of yellow split peas, toasted pepitas, and cilantro pesto.

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 beautiful, spicy hummus recipe made from pureed garbanzo beans, toasted walnuts, and spicy crushed red pepper oil finished with a few chopped olives and a bit of cilantro.

A big, slurpy bowl of whisper-thin spinach noodles draped in a spicy curry and herb broth - inspired by a beautiful box of noodles I picked up in Mill Valley, Ca.

This zesty, cilantro-centric soba noodle bowl features a hefty dose of the green stuff, pan-toasted tofu, and plenty of vegetables.

A lovely herb salad recipe made from lots of summertime herbs, green beans, and corn.

A favorite carrot salad recipe - carrot ribbons sauteed in a bit of salt and olive oil and finished off with lemon zest, finely chopped serrano chiles, a quick squeeze of lemon juice, and lots of cilantro.

A favorite (and quick) tofu scramble recipe using shaved fennel, caramelized onions spices and dried fruit, and then counter-balancing those flavors with cilantro and chopped nuts.