Side Dish Recipes

Cream of carrot soup made the classic way: onions sweated in butter, a quick roux for body, then carrots simmered in stock, blended and strained silky-smooth, and finished with cream. Velvety, elegant, and simple.

Classic Spanish gazpacho with ripe tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, garlic and white wine vinegar. No-cook chilled summer soup blended in 5 minutes.

Last Christmas, I did it for whole family, they went very nice, this year will try it again!

Grandma's broccoli soup: a simple, silky pureed broccoli soup with sauteed onion and vegetable stock, lightened with a splash of warm milk instead of heavy cream. Six ingredients, ready in about half an hour.

Cream of pumpkin soup with coriander, curry powder, and a finishing drizzle of walnut oil. Smooth, golden, and ready in an hour using fresh or canned pumpkin.

Easy broccoli cheddar soup made from scratch with a quick butter-flour roux, milk, chicken broth, broccoli florets, and sharp cheddar. A creamy 25-minute weeknight soup recipe.

Sweet butternut squash soup blended with apples, carrots, onions, and fresh ginger into a creamy vegan puree. Six ingredients, no broth, naturally sweet and warming.

Pumpkin and chickpea soup with caramelized onions, fresh pumpkin, soaked chickpeas, and a hint of honey. Hearty vegan, high-fibre soup ready in an hour.

Cream of broccoli soup with butter-sauteed onion and celery, simmered broccoli, and a finishing pour of half-and-half. Smooth pureed soup ready in 40 minutes.

Curried squash soup made with pre-cooked butternut squash, garlic, curry powder, and chicken stock. A 40-minute warming bowl topped with sour cream and scallions for color and tang.

Mom's spiced carrot soup purees tender carrots into a silky bowl warmed with cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and a whisper of cayenne. Healthy, low-fat, and on the table in 30 minutes.

Grilled peaches are succulent, sweet and slightly sour with the grilling flavor. They are delicious mixed with the baby greens, creamy crumbled goat cheese, and drizzled with balsamic glaze.

A simple salad with big health credentials: avocados are an excellent source of good fats, and more recently have been shown to also inhibit inflammation when eaten in combination with foods that typically trigger it. They are also a rich source of potassium (which balances sodium to keep blood pressure levels stable) and vitamin E, an important antioxidant.

Sweet, sour and slightly spicy. Cucumber, sweet bell pepper, carrots, wood ears and smoked tofu are tossed with rice vinegar, maple syrup, sesame oil, soy sauce and Korean chili pepper. A very tasty side dish that goes well with all your favorite Korean dishes or most of the main courses.

Fresh sweet cherries and quinoa are tossed with celery, creamy goat cheese, toasted almonds and tangy white wine vinaigrette.

Caesar salad is delicious and can successfully be combined with such accompaniments as grilled chicken, steak, and shrimp. Here's the recipe I use.