35 secret recipes

Vegetable pasta sauce loaded with zucchini, mushrooms, carrot and a secret of blended chickpeas that add body and protein to a red-wine tomato base. A hearty, vegan sauce that eats like a meaty ragu.

DASHI STOCK is Japanese clear soup stock. There are four types made from kelp, dried bonito, shitake mushroom, or dried fish. Dashi stock is the secret of Japanese cooking. To keep this strictly vegetarian, I omit the dried bonito flakes and substitute with soy bean sprouts and or mushrooms.

The secret to tender baked beans is to leave the salt out until they are finished cooking. For some reason, salt toughens them. To pamper your tummy, rinse off the beans when they are finished soaking in several changes of cold water. This recipe is easy to prepare ahead and cooks in only two hours.