Vegetarian

Most people eat arugula greens (also known as rocket), which have a lemon-pepper flavor, in a salad. But this leafy vegetable is also wonderful in a pesto or to dress up a pizza or pasta. Buy it by the bunch, remove the stems, and thoroughly rinse the leaves, which can be quite sandy, in cool water. To make this pasta, cook spaghetti, and while it bubbles, saute red onion, garlic, and lime rind in olive oil, then add the spaghetti to the pan. Toss with lime juice, a dash of cayenne, chopped basil, and a few cups of arugula. The heat of the spaghetti cooks the vegetable.

Take a break from meat and serve these easy wraps at your next get together. They're full of protein and flavor and low in fat. Ingredients with an asterisk (*) are available in the Whole Foods Market Family of Brands.

Cool soba is often served plain alongside individual portions of dipping sauce. Ready-made tsuyu is available in bottles, but its flavor pales compared with fresh, which requires just four ingredients -- soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and dashi, the traditional Japanese broth for which I make the highly unorthodox substitution of soba cooking water. Other flavors, commonly wasabi or ginger, can also be added. Bucking tradition again, I find that soba also goes well with heartier garnishes and dressings.

Cashew pilaf is a beautifully textured mix of nutty wild rice and tender long grain white rice, studded with tiny cubes of sautéed carrots, onions and, at the end, a lavish toss of minced parsley and roasted salted cashews. It has softness and crunch, sweetness and saltiness.

The Italian word frittata derives from fritto, the past participle of "to fry" (friggere), and was originally a general term for cooking eggs in a skillet, anywhere on the spectrum from fried egg, through conventional omelette, to an Italian version of the Spanish tortilla de patatas, made with fried potato. Outside Italy, frittata was seen as equivalent to "omelette" until at least the mid-1950s.

PAD THAI, savory noodles that are a national dish of Thailand, can be made in multiple variations, but cooks must stay on their toes. At its sprightly best, pad Thai has fresh, tangy flavors. The sauce — with a splash of lime or lemon juice — is sweet, sour and spicy. The gently chewy, translucent rice noodles are mixed with a toss of bean sprouts, baby bok choy, slivers of sweet red pepper, string beans and a sprinkle of fresh basil and cilantro. Tiny clouds of scrambled egg and cubes of swiftly sautéed tofu add protein. The final touch is a topping of chopped, roasted, salted peanuts.

If you have native tomatoes, slice them and set on thick slices of grilled, crusty bread. Top with the eggplant-chevre mixture.