If I had realized how simple it was to create delicious no-bake pumpkin bars, I wouldn’t have waited so long to make them, let alone share the recipe. Fortunately, they are so easy that you and I can make them for any and all occasions this fall, from Thanksgiving to an afternoon snack (that’s an occasion, right?). What’s more, the tender, nutty crust and fluffy pumpkin and chai spice filling are completely free of gluten, dairy, eggs, nuts, and refined sugar!

A baked cookie that’s gluten-free and vegan, made without refined sugar and fantastically soft, chewy, and delicious? I wasn’t sure it was possible, but after a whole lot of tinkering (and a little bit of crying), I finally found the cookie I was looking for. These almond spice cookies are kind of like a chewy peanut butter cookie, filled with spices for the holidays.

They're gluten-free and vegan, too.

Figs, lavender, goat cheese, almonds, honey. Baked into a galette, these exquisitely complementary flavors whisk us away to the Mediterranean. This is a rustic tart that honors the sweetness of ripe figs without being too rich or cloying. A flaky, buttery crust with a thin veneer of creamy goat cheese and almonds counterbalances the sweet figs and honey, while lavender provides a delicate aroma.

While one can’t go wrong with ordinary roasted carrots and parsnips, there are times – in the middle of winter, especially – when one craves something a bit more glamorous. Something vibrant. I have the solution, and although it does require a few special ingredients, it takes hardly more effort than the typical roasted veg. Roasting carrots and parsnips in a hot oven turns them tender and sweet with crispy, caramelized edges.

Poking around the kitchen the other morning, I discovered a handful of eggs, two leftover tortillas, a knob of cheese, and a jar of salsa. It was clear what I had to do: Make migas. “Migas” is the Spanish word for “crumbs,” and in Spain it’s a dish typically comprised of stale bread and other ingredients.

What do you get when you combine purple corn, fruit, and spices? Chicha morada, a refreshing Peruvian punch that just might become your new summer beverage staple! Gloriously-hued chicha morada is an Andean drink made from purple corn, or maíz morado. Maize-based beverages have existed in the region since Pre-Columbian times, and this one has a fruity, tangy, spiced note from the addition of ingredients like pineapple, apple, lime, cinnamon, and cloves.

It’s a little early in the season to fire up the grill, but if you have a grill pan, a panini press, or even just a skillet, any time is a good time to sear some halloumi and make this vegetarian main-dish salad. Traditional to Cyprus, halloumi is a briny, squeaky sheep and/or goat’s milk cheese. A high melting point makes it ideal for grilling or frying, which miraculously transforms it into a distinctive, golden-crusted cheese with a milky soft center.

Every so often there comes a restaurant meal which really inspires us in our own kitchens. This is a dish influenced by my own recent visit to the Porthminster Café, a breezy restaurant nestled below an ocean cliff just steps away from the stunningly blue water in St. Ives, Cornwall. Headed by Australian chef and surfer Michael Smith, the Porthminster Café’s menu mixes Mediterranean and Asian influences, and it’s heavy on the local seafood.

Here’s a spring salad that’s equally satisfying for a workday lunch or a weekend picnic. Light yet filling, it combines chewy, nutritious barley with two seasonal treats – young green garlic and crisp sugar snap peas.Though not difficult to make, the recipe does take some advance planning to cook and cool the barley before tossing it with a creamy, pesto-like green garlic sauce and lightly cooked sugar snap peas.

Composed of whole grains and seasonal vegetables and herbs, cool grain salads make a satisfying lunch, picnic, or side dish. We could probably subsist on them all spring and summer long! Here’s a brilliantly fresh version with chewy farro, English peas, and sweet leeks, all tied together with a yogurt-lemon dressing. Use fresh peas and tender baby leeks if available; otherwise, substitute frozen peas and a grown-up leek.

Here’s a recipe to chase away the winter blues: a vibrant slaw made from crunchy root vegetables and zesty orange-cumin dressing.We used celery root or celeriac, pink and white chioggia beetsShred the roots into matchstick pieces with a mandoline or other grater, toss them with the zest and juice of a winter orange, some toasted cumin seeds, and a handful of other dressing ingredients, and you’re done!

The first time I made these roasted vegetable tacos, I had few expectations beyond using up odds and ends: some leftover tortillas, a handful of carrots and parsnips, a lone sweet potato, half a head of cabbage. Enlivened with a pinch of pantry spices and a squeeze of lime, however, the tacos turned out to be worthy of making again and again, with intention and pleasure.

Every time we find ourselves in the midst of shelling fava beans, we question whether it’s worth the labor. And then, as soon as we take that first bite, we remember: yes, of course. They’re buttery, nutty, and so fantastically green in both flavor and color. Toss them with tender potatoes, crisp fennel, and a bright, lemony dressing for a spring salad that’s richly satisfying in taste and texture.

I’ve shared how much more likely I am to eat breakfast when it’s a meze style – I just love being able to sample from a spread of olives, cheese, fresh vegetables, bread. Pita is nice, but when I have a little extra time, I make up a batch of manakish zaatar to eat over a few days. Topped with a fragrant, zingy blend of spices, these Lebanese flatbreads make lovely snacks and appetizers, too.

Whether you choose the toppings or let your guests join in on the fun, pizzas and flatbreads are great crowd pleasers. I’m especially fond of socca, a chewy, crispy, gluten-free flatbread made from chickpea flour. As an appetizer or main course socca can be served plain or topped, like this one for spring. It features an herby, lemony pesto and fresh salad — plus it should even satisfy the worst dinner guest ever!

As we learned recently, we’re not the only fans of gorgeous, fragrant rose water. This is our very favorite use for it – Persian ice, or faloodeh, a splendidly refreshing combination of rose water, lime juice, sugar, and noodles. Yes, noodles!Faloodeh is one of the earliest known frozen desserts, dating to ca. 400 BC in Persia. This version is particularly associated with the city of Shiraz, while other variations exist across the Middle East, India, and Pakistan.

Rich and comforting, sweet potatoes are an ideal soup ingredient. Pairing them with tempeh and warm spices makes for an even heartier nutrition-packed meal. With a dollop of tangy yogurt and sprinkle of toasted pumpkin seeds, this stew can be served on its own or ladled over grains like quinoa for a satisfying fall dinner.

Let’s get this out of the way: This Trader Joe’s-inspired recipe won’t save you time. If you’re accustomed to running into TJ’s and grabbing their prepackaged Spicy Lentil Wrap (with Spicy Tahini Sauce!), then the chopping, boiling, and whisking required to make it at home might seem like more than you care to take on. But it’s such a worthy endeavor.

Happy post-Thanksgiving! What kind of cranberry sauce did you have this year? We made a beautiful cranberry-pomegranate sauce and although it was a hit, we still had a quite a bit left over. If you adore cranberry sauce as much as we do, you could probably eat it by the spoonful, but here’s another idea: baked apples.

Are you looking to cut back on refined sugar this holiday? Or perhaps you’d like to jazz things up in the cranberry department? This cranberry sauce features maple syrup, apples, and apple cider for a lovely autumnal flavor. I think I like it better than the standard version! Most cranberry sauce recipes call for sugar, which not only balances out the tartness of the cranberries but also helps to thicken the sauce.

On our recent trip to Minnesota, we ate wild rice every chance we could get, savoring the chewy texture and rich, nutty flavor of this Great Lakes specialty. Some of our most memorable meals were the meat-free, wild rice burgers served at restaurants like Fitger’s Brewhouse, Black Woods, and Grandma’s in Duluth.

We just ate asparagus FIVE days in a row and would have been pretty asparagused out if it hadn’t been for this exciting new discovery – asparagus salsa! Green salsa, or salsa verde, usually contains tomatillos or copious amounts of herbs but this version gets it vivid color from asparagus spears.We first tasted a variation of this sauce at an event catered by Guerra’s Gourmet in Washington’s Yakima Valley.

My favorite part about making kuku sabzi is running my knife through the big handfuls of fragrant herbs that give this Persian frittata its name (sabzi means herbs in Farsi). Fresh parsley, cilantro, chives, and dill are the stars of this recipe, though you can substitute leeks, scallions, tarragon, spinach, or other tender greens that you have on hand.

No matter how many times I have cooked with the watermelon radish, slicing into one is always a magical experience. Although the pale greenish-white root is rather unassuming at first glance, inside lies the most brilliant fuchsia core. Heating it dulls the color, so my favorite way to serve this mild radish is raw or lightly pickled. In a salad, it really adds a vivid pop.

We’ve all encountered, and possibly even served, a boring crudité platter. As a vegetarian and gluten-free guest and host, I’ve had my fair share of raw broccoli and carrot sticks while other party guests indulged in more interesting hors d’oeuvres. But these pickled baby carrots? These ones with the zingy bite that will be ready in just a couple of hours? You might want to double the recipe.

Earlier this week, we shared pictures of fresh shell beans at the farmers’ market. Rattlesnake beans in particular caught our eye with their colorful, twisty pods. We brought some home, shelled them, and were delighted to find purple and brown striped and speckled seeds (above). Given our love of farmers’ market sandwiches, we cooked them into a hearty shell bean and sage spread for toasty bread.

We recently harvested and dried a bunch of pink pepper and have been playing with ways to savor this delicately sweet, spicy, and almost citrusy berry. Here are two bright and festive appetizer recipes that pair pink peppercorns with thyme: a warm, creamy goat cheese spread, and zesty marinated olives.For a quick yet elegant baguette or crostini spread, we drizzled fresh goat cheese with honey, pink pepper, and thyme and baked it until soft and bubbly.

To the uninitiated, lacto-fermentation often sounds at best confusing and at worst frightening. Before I got elbow-deep into the world of kimchi, sauerkraut, and other fermented foods, I had vague notions of lacto-fermentation involving milk, bacteria, and jars of mysterious contents bubbling away in dark cupboards. Some of this is true, some of it isn’t, and I’ll get to that in a minute.

It’s funny how we can maintain that we don’t like a certain food, even as evidence mounts to the contrary. Me, I’ve had a lifelong aversion to eggplant. So when a couple of fat ones appeared in our CSA box, I automatically filled with dread. What on earth would I do with these ghastly vegetables (err, fruits)?

I am perpetually delighted by the fact that citrus comes into season at the very moment when we could use an extra boost of sunshine and vitamin C. And though citrus fruits aren’t the most common of smoothie ingredients, I really think they should be. Here’s a bright and fresh smoothie filled with clementines, coconut, and turmeric. Like a healthified Orange Julius, it makes a fabulous, filling breakfast or replenishing post-workout meal.

Green smoothies get a lot of attention for “detox” or “cleanse” purposes, but I offer this recipe simply because it’s delicious. Packed with immune-boosting ingredients — like spinach, pear, and ginger — it’s bright and invigorating, yet not teeth-chatteringly cold. In other words: an excellent smoothie for winter. Nutrient-rich spinach forms the base of this smoothie.

Most punch recipes cater to a single crowd: drinkers or non-drinkers. This one is delicious either way. Whether you fizz it up with champagne or mineral water, hibiscus ginger punch will put a colorful sparkle in your celebrations. When I started dreaming of a festive punch, I initially considered cranberry or pomegranate but, frankly, I was a bit tired of these ingredients, which appear in every other beverage this time of year.

If you enjoy Earl Grey and hibiscus teas, then try this mash-up of the two. It’s simple to make, with stunning results, and can be served chilled as a not-too-sweet and non-alcoholic accompaniment to a meal.I loved iced Earl Grey, especially when cold-brewed, which gives the tea a pleasantly smooth flavor free of bitterness. The addition of dried hibiscus flowers infuses the tea with fuchsia color and cranberry-like tartness – just how strong depends on how long you let it steep.

My idea for this iced tea-slash-mocktail has been brewing ever since one of our readers suggested pu-erh as a possible non-alcoholic alternative to bourbon. (Thanks, missjulia!) Bourbon is my favorite liquor, but my partner is allergic to alcohol, so it seemed a fun challenge to create something we’d both enjoy. And pu-erh turned out to be the perfect ingredient. Traditional to Yunnan province, China, pu-erh is an aged and fermented tea with a smooth, earthy flavor.

Italian beverages have captured our hearts this summer. Yesterday, Faith wrote about her discovery of BibiCaffè, a fizzy espresso soda. Here in my kitchen, I have been shaking up another refreshing espresso drink, the caffè shakerato.Apparently, shakerati have been all the rage in Italy during the past decade. A step above regular iced coffee, this beverage is born in a cocktail shaker and customarily served in a martini glass or champagne flute.

I grew up drinking Mexican hot cocoa on Christmas eve, but an allergy to chocolate forced me to seek a different beverage tradition. Enter my new, grown-up favorite: hot buttered bourbon and cider.A twist on the more common hot buttered rum, this bourbon and apple cider recipe is warming, sweet, spicy, and oh so decadent. Not only has it become a personal favorite, but it always has our holiday party guests clamoring for a second – or third! – mug and the recipe.

Persimmon season has mostly waned, but if you thought to dry some of the fruits to keep in your pantry, here’s a most delicious way to use them. You can also use the dried persimmons found at many Asian markets. Sujeonggwa is a Korean punch or tea, made by simmering ginger and cinnamon sticks and then adding sugar and dried persimmons. Although it’s served chilled, the warmth imparted by the ginger and cinnamon make it wholly appropriate for winter days.

Oh, glorious summer peaches! I’ve been greedily and gratefully buying armloads at the farmers’ market, accepting boxes from friends with orchards, and plucking the sun-kissed fruits from neighborhood trees. So, when I was thinking of a drink to serve during our upcoming Olympics viewing party – something refreshing and non-alcoholic – I immediately turned to the pile of peaches on the kitchen counter.

Most of us are familiar with that uncomfortable feeling that comes from eating too fast, or eating something that didn’t quite agree. Indigestion, overfullness, gas, bloating… However you want to phrase it, it’s not fun! Fortunately, there’s a simple, effective way to soothe the belly, and it comes in the form of a cup of tea.

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.

Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, potato pancakes appear in many cuisines around the world. I’ve never met a potato pancake I didn’t like, but some of my favorites are Korean gamjajeon, which are frequently made into mini sizes perfect for dipping into vinegared soy sauce and served as a savory appetizer, side dish, or snack. When I wound up with a bunch of potatoes and spring alliums and herbs, it’s the first dish I thought of making.

Whether homemade or store-bought, kimchi is delicious straight from the jar, but it can also be incorporated into lots of other dishes. These savory kimchi pancakes make a scrumptious snack, side dish, or appetizer. It’s easy to make them gluten-free and vegan, too. Just grab a skillet and a few simple ingredients. Kimchi pancakes, or kimchijeon, are crispy, a bit chewy, and full of the umami goodness of Korean-style fermented cabbage.

Have you ever had bánh xèo? These sizzling, chewy, crispy Vietnamese crêpes are made from rice flour, coconut milk, and turmeric – which gives them that brilliant yellow color – and are surprisingly easy to cook at home.For years, I feared making bánh xèo (pronounced bahn say-oh) because the memory of my grandmother’s was so strong and perfect. No restaurant version could ever approximate hers and certainly my homemade versions wouldn’t, either!

When we got a basketful of nectarines from our CSA, we initially thought of turning them into a dessert … but the fruits were so juicy and sweet in their own right that it seemed a crime to cover them up with sugar! Thus, we came up with the nectarine tartine. Not only is it fun to say but it has all the qualities of our favorite kind of summer dish – light, fresh, little or no heat required, and taking full advantage of the season’s produce.

When I first conceived of these bright little tarts, I imagined them as dessert. Later I decided that they were even better as a fancy, yet healthy (gluten-free and sugar-free), breakfast. Either way, they are a luscious pairing of two winter gems: kumquats and dates. Kumquats and dates are some of my favorite treats from the winter farmers’ markets here in Southern California.

I can think of few finer uses for jam than a bakewell tart, a scrumptious British dessert combining buttery short crust pastry with sweet fruit preserves and almond frangipane. For these mini bakewell tarts made in a muffin tin, I used raspberry jam and early autumn figs, a lovely summer-meets-fall pairing.Biting into a bakewell tart is pure bliss – on the outside you have a flaky crust, which holds rich, chewy almond frangipane and below that, a layer of sweet jam.

Jammy pink rhubarb, coconut custard, and a honey-rose water drizzle! Who needs gluten (or dairy or nuts or refined sugar, for that matter) when you’ve got all this going on?! A weeknight dinner was an unusual inspiration for this dessert, but the idea took hold as soon as I made the Fennel & Coconut Tart recipe from Vegetarian Everyday by David Frenkiel and Luise Vindahl of Green Kitchen Stories. (A review of their excellent new cookbook coming later this week!