Cilantro

Add chicken or pork to turn this side dish into a satisfying main course. Chopped roasted peanuts are a nice garnish.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

For this recipe you may use whatever mushrooms you happen to have on hand. Serve the dish as an accompaniment to grilled or roasted meats, seafood, or chicken or with soup as a light lunch or dinner.

This salsa from Café Iguana in Denver, Colorado is terrific with tortilla chips.

A colorful, delicious dish from Lantana's Restaurant, Grand Cayman, West Indies.

There are many versions of special-occasion green rice in Mexico. My current favorite is this one, green with the richness and welcoming spiciness of poblano chiles, backed up by herbal cilantro and sweet onion and garlic. This full-flavored rice can accompany a simple grilled fish or chicken or any dish that weaves a little green chile into its sauce. The rice is made pilaf style, like most Mexican rices, meaning that the raw rice is fried first so that the grains will be separate when cooked. Dependable as that method is, this rice comes out a touch sticky because of all the poblano pureed into the broth. I make it ahead, spread it onto a baking sheet to cool and allow excess moisture to evaporate, so the rice will fluff up into separate grains. Then I reheat it in a steamer.

A fresh-tasting main-course salad.

The following recipe is our version of gai yang, the grilled or roasted marinated chicken for which there are many variations in Thailand. Although gai yang is traditionally served with only a sweet chili garlic sauce for dipping, we were so taken with the complex flavor of the marinade that we decided to make extra and turn it into a second dipping sauce. Both sauces offered here are simple and delicious, but the Cornish hens can easily stand on their own.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Carrots, red onion, cilantro, Kalamata olives and a fragrant cumin dressing make a lovely summertime salad.

This dressing can also be used as a refreshing condiment for spicy curries.

This refreshing salad is delicious and ideal as a snack or light dessert in the heat of summer. This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.