sides

I'm a little sick of the traditional Thanksgiving meal. That's why this year I plan on serving slightly different versions of old favorites — like a turkey roulade instead of a whole roasted turkey, for instance.

Rather than the usual green bean casserole, I'm reaching for a neo-Southern riff on the creamed spinach standby, and plan on impressing guests with creamed collard greens. Unlike creamed spinach, this vegetable side isn't swimming in heavy cream; the cream adds subtle body, while smoky bacon rounds out the collards' bitter character.

But the pièce de résistance is really the crispy, cheesy crumb topping. Be sure to make a generous amount, because the more, the better. Add a new tradition to your meal when you keep reading

I'm convinced that nature knows best, because just as I started brown-bagging my lunch again, my local supermarket was offering late Summer vegetables at rock-bottom prices. Zucchini at 59 cents a pound? I decided it was time to start hoarding.

Ideally, zucchini has a nice crunch and a subtle, botanical flavor that's best brought out with a minimalist dressing like this one — olive oil, lemon, dill, and a sprinkling of feta. Eat it right away, or better yet, bring it to work or school, and over the course of a few hours the flavors will meld together nicely. Read ahead for the recipe.

My lifelong relationship with rice has been solid yet stagnant: growing up in a Chinese household, plain white rice served hot out of the rice maker was integral to every lunch and dinner, although it never strayed from its spartan form.

Yet recently, my intrigue with this herbed rice salad from David Tanis's latest cookbook has sparked something of a phenomenon. I no longer want to eat plain rice. Instead, I want to eat his herbed rice with everything. Grilled meats? Check. Chilled shellfish? Check. Tomato salad? Double check.

The key is to skip the rice cooker and boil the rice the old-school way, to prevent the grains from sticking. Cook until just slightly chewy, then spread them out to dry and mix them with herbs by hand to keep everything airy. I like to add chopped fresh Summer vegetables like cucumbers and tomatoes. The end product reminds me of a fluffier, more comforting, slightly warm version of tabbouleh. Keep reading to get the building block of a recipe.

Everything tastes better when cooked on the grill — including fingerling potatoes! Thanks for the inspiration Dice215.
A great side dish for anything from chicken, burgers, steak, you name it!

Want to check out the recipe? You can find it on her blog. Have you got an amazing photo to share? Upload it to the YumSugar Community now!

Fava beans are a much-maligned Spring vegetable, and for somewhat good reason. Not only do they have a haunting cultural meme attached to their reputation, but you've also got to work to enjoy them: these beans require shucking, boiling, and then shelling before they can be applied to any recipe. Or so I thought, until I discovered this brilliant grilling technique.

Start with young fava bean pods, toss them with olive oil, grill them until limp and blackened around the edges, then season with chile, lemon, and salt, and devour whole. It may not look like much, but the end result — which managed to make me a total fava bean convert — is a true testament to the idea that the best foods often have the simplest preparations. Eat this right now, when it's warm enough to fire up the grill, but while fava pods can still be found small and tender. For the recipe, read ahead.

Panzanella is an Italian bread salad that's traditionally made in the Summer with day old bread, tomatoes, and basil. However, I love this salad and I make it year-round. So does Michael Chiarello, apparently, because he's got recipes for Spring and Winter panzanellas that incorporate seasonal ingredients.

Over the weekend I was invited to a picnic and decided it was the ideal time to experiment with his Spring version. It combines fresh peas, asparagus, basil, and green beans with croutons, radicchio, spinach, and ricotta cheese. This salad is spectacular!

It's full of interesting textures, from the crunch of the croutons to the crumble of the cheese. It's packed with tons of different flavors: earthy asparagus, aromatic basil, salty cheese. Spring panzanella is not only awesome at a picnic, but it's a welcome addition to a Memorial Day barbecue menu. Check out the method now.

Sometimes it's nice to prepare a big bowl of beans; then, you can use the beans over and over again to make different dishes throughout the week. Tonight I suggest you throw together a pot of these fragrant and flavorful black beans. The recipe calls for canned beans, so you don't have to worry about overnight-soaking or cooking for a long period of time. Serve the beans in a crispy taco shell, layered between two soft tortillas as quesadillas, or tossed with greens in a hearty salad. To get the fast and easy recipe, keep reading.