The first few times I tried kimchi it was not, I must admit, my favorite food. Then I met my Korean-American partner, Gregory, moved in with his mom — a superb cook — and within a few months I was wholly converted. These days my mouth waters at the slightest whiff of pungent, fermented cabbage and I'll eat it with everything from fried rice to dumplings, summer rolls, or, ahem, straight out of the jar. I still have a lot to learn from Mom when it comes to kimchi making (there are over a hundred different kinds!) but this mak kimchi, or simple kimchi, recipe has been a great place to start. 

Don't get me wrong, I love a good green salad. But there is a whole world of quick, easy vegetable side dishes that don't involve lettuce. With recipes like sesame roasted snap peas, baked chili-spiked sweet potato chips and grilled cabbage with spicy lime dressing, you now have no excuse. Get out of that salad rut tonight!

When Cambria asked Faith and myself for some help coming up with a main course for her Spring Vegetarian Dinner Party for Six, at first we couldn't decide. Faith thought it should be creamy and green. Cambria wanted a vegetarian dish that wasn't just another platter of pasta. I advocated for something satisfying and hearty, but still light enough for a spring meal. The final vote was unanimous: a pureed soup of peppery spring watercress served with warm goat cheese dumplings. Done and done. This recipe is a winner.

As the weather warms up, turning on the oven to roast a pan of vegetables stops being an option, but that doesn't mean you have to spend the next five months eating green salads or steamed broccoli. Instead, look to your grill — or a stovetop grill pan — to quickly transform vegetables into soft, smoky, irresistibly summery versions of themselves. Carrots are one of my favorites on the grill, their charred, sweet flavor needing just a squeeze of lemon and some fresh herbs to become a simple but surprising side dish.

A few months ago we launched a new monthly series, Gatherings from The Kitchn, showing you the real-life parties we host in our homes, large and small. We started off with Faith's cozy Italian polenta party, followed by Anjali's charming book club brunch. This week I'll be sharing a spring dinner party I hosted in my small Brooklyn apartment. You'll read about my light, fresh vegetarian menu — centered around soup, not pasta! — the simple ways I arranged a few bouquets of store-bought flowers, and how I transformed my living room for the occasion with some clever rearranging and a few twinkling lights.

Are you in the mood for a sparkling spring dinner for six? Then come along to mine!

If you're feeling a little uninspired lately, you aren't alone — we call it the springtime slump. It seems to peak around dinnertime, when the contents of our fridges and pantries just look so...boring. Injecting a new recipe or two into the repertoire just doesn't seem to cut it. Instead, we're here with a whole week of weeknight-friendly dinner menus, with options for vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free eaters, too. Ready to shake up your weekly dinner rotation?

Chia seed puddings are all the rage these days, and for good reason. When stirred with water, juice, or milk, the seeds gel up and thicken, creating the most delightful tapioca-like texture. It's easy (no heat required!) and contains all the nutrition of chia seeds, which taste neutral enough that you can play with your favorite flavors. In my case, that means a sweet spring combo of strawberries, coconut, and lime. 

I love May when all the seasonal farmers markets start to open. For the next 4 weeks, I'll be visiting the markets weekly near where I live in Northern California and buy ingredients to make a simple, vegetarian dish to share with you. This week there were gorgeous rainbow carrots at the market, along with lemons from a neighboring table. A fresh veggie fettuccine was definitely on the menu.

Most Americans are familiar with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall through his well-received River Cottage Meat Book, so it may come as some surprise that he has penned a 400-page vegetable-centric tome devoted to the appreciation and cooking of vegetables.  But it makes a lot of sense that this passionate, out-spoken pioneer of local food has finally turned towards vegetables. River Cottage Veg is a lovely book, a love song to the many inspiring things you can pluck from your vegetable patch and bring into the kitchen.