Christy Rice

Mix and match to create your favorite flavor profiles. For Greek-inspired flavors, mix the olives and vinaigrette with feta cheese, red onion, fresh mint, and a little oregano.

Try this delicious curry dish with some basmati rice and a cool cucumber salad seasoned with mint and lemon juice.

Sliced beets resemble pepperoni on a traditional pizza and offer an earthy sweetness that pairs perfectly with chèvre or other tart cheeses. If you happen to have young beet greens, chop them up and add them to the top of this pizza after it is cooked. 

This vibrant soup is great hot or chilled. For a tarter flavor, substitute lemon juice and zest in place of the orange juice and zest. 

Carpaccio is traditionally made with thinly sliced raw beef. This version, made with sliced raw beets, is a great way to showcase a variety of heirloom beet varieties, such as striped Chioggia, golden and red.     

For a vegetarian version of this hearty entrée, substitute crumbled tempeh for the ground beef.

At once comforting and exotic, this homey chicken stew is deepened by curry and cinnamon notes. For the pilaf, try toasted almonds, parsley and diced dried apricots instead of toasted pine nuts, mint and currants.

Served over supergreens like baby kale, spinach and beet greens, this hearty salad makes a fresh and flavorful meal. Try dried cherries, blueberries or diced dried apricots in place of the cranberries; substitute toasted pecans, almonds or walnuts for the pumpkin seeds.

Topped with salsa and sour cream, these addictive croquettes make a warm, nourishing meal. Serve with a fresh green salad.

A classic dessert whose beauty and elegance belie its simplicity.

Refreshingly frosty, these fruit-based, slightly sweetened palate cleansers are very easy to make. All three recipes make about 1 quart each.

Toasted, chewy and luscious, these coconut macaroons get a twist of flavor from almond flour. Feel free to drizzle cooled macaroons with melted dark chocolate.

Egg Drop soup doesn’t have to be gloopy and bland. Simply adding vegetables and other greens ramps up the flavor and comfort quotient. 

The soft yolk of the poached egg becomes part of the salad dressing in this deliciously simple salad. Chop the egg and toss with the greens before eating, if desired. Sub in other sturdy, bitter salad greens, such as radicchio, endive and chicory.

A classic since the 1940s, this dressing takes a homemade mayonnaise base and ramps it up with the strong, addictive flavors of garlic, lemon and Parmesan cheese.

This dressing is based on tzatziki, a classic Greek sauce used for grilled meats.  

Reminiscent of the “Catalina” dressing so popular in the 1960s and ’70s, but much healthier.