Meal Prep

Steamed cauliflower florets, broccoli florets and carrot slices are mixed with olives and tossed with a sun-dried tomato and oregano vinaigrette in this Italian-inspired starter "from the garden."

Aji amarillo is a Peruvian chile. This salsa uses a jarred paste made from these flavorful and fiery bright yellow peppers. This recipe is an accompaniment for Pork Tenderloin Churrasco .

Baked yams and steamed spinach make colorful accompaniments. Ice cream alongside hot apple turnovers tops off the meal.

Ghee Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 30 min

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 45 min

This sauce evokes Provence at its productive best, in summer, when farms and family gardens are at their peak production, yielding vegetables with an incomparable depth of flavor. Note: be sure all of your ingredients, and the bowl or mortar you are working with, are at room temperature. Differing temperatures can cause the aïoli to separate. When making aïoli - or any mayonnaise-like sauce - think slow, slow, slow. There is a simple remedy for separated aïoli. Put an egg yolk in another bowl, and slowly whisk the separated aïoli into it.

You can form the patties a day ahead, leaving only a quick frying job for the morning.

This is used in four of the dishes in the menu; the recipe makes enough for them all.

This chutney is well worth the 1-month wait it takes for the spices to mellow. Try it with grilled shrimp or fish, or on grilled chicken or cheese sandwiches. Active time: 2 hr Start to finish: 31/2 hr (plus 1 month for flavors to develop)

Dashi Active time: 5 min Start to finish: 30 min Elizabeth Andoh's recipe for dashi provides more than you'll need for the dipping sauce but just enough extra for two nice bowls of miso soup: Heat up the stock and stir in a couple of tablespoons of miso, a handful of diced tofu, and a sprinkling of sliced scallion.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 40 min

This is one of my favorite sauces: Its deep, purpley, cranberry color is reason enough for that designation, but then again so is the bright strawberry/kiwi/watermelon flavor, with its hints of the unbridled tropics. And the fact that you can tell your guests you're serving them cactus fruit (and that it is delicious) gives you a decidedly exotic edge. The puree is very watery, like watermelon juice, so in order to give the sauce some body but not take away all the fruit's freshness, I've directed you to rapidly boil down part of the puree with sugar, then cool it and add the remaining uncooked puree. This method works well with watermelon puree, too, should you not be able to find prickly pears. You will need about 3 cups seeded, pureed watermelon pulp.