Adding hearty pumpkin to the starchy potatoes makes this fish chowder a little richer and the perfect way to use fall’s farm-fresh, seasonal squash. It’s the perfect dish to warm you from the inside on a crisp fall day.

Rich, fresh pumpkin purée replaces tomato sauce as the base for this pizza topped with spicy Merguez lamb sausage, nutty, toasted pumpkin seeds and sharp, salty Feta cheese.

Fresh, summer peaches, cardamom, ginger, and a bit of spicy chile: this sauce delivers the sweet, acidic and floral flavors of summer peaches with a complex-but-easy blend of spices in the form a sugary glaze to grilled pork chops, chicken quarters and salmon. It is wonderful tossed with baked, fried or grilled wings.

The tart side of sweet plums brings balance to this refreshing, easy tomato and fruit gazpacho. Floral coriander seed and the spiced notes of Thai basil lend it the complexity to serve as the opening act for steak off the grill, or play summer and light to a main course of poached fish.

This salad with earthy lamb, dill and broccoli, and sharp feta, is bold, herbaceous and complex, the perfect companion for the rich, round flavors of the potato and pasta salads at your summer cookout. It is fabulously fresh for summer and hearty enough for a fall dinner when Brassicas like broccoli are really shining at the farm market.

This simple dish reinvents a leftover tomato salad into a fresh, rich, one-dish summer. Sweet tomatoes, pungent herbs and sharp feta balance with full-flavored chicken thighs for a delicious meal with almost no work! Enjoy!

Tackle the boredom of leftovers by transforming them into something entirely new. The work you’ve already done adds up delivering quick and easy meals packed with flavor. From a recent appearance on WJLA ABC7 Good Morning Washington.

This salad is so good it deserves hyperbole. Here goes. In the summertime, when the corn is high this simple salad celebrates tomatoes at their beautifully-balanced, sugary, acidic best. Sweet tomatoes, sharp, salty feta and the bright, earthy herb and red wine vinaigrette combine three big personalities on one stage and share the limelight in perfect balance delivering one delicious experience.

Tarragon, the paragon herb of light and fresh, pairs perfectly with delicately poached chicken for a not-too-heavy chicken salad perfect over crisp greens on in a sandwich. This recipe is a perfect way to reinvent leftover wine and herb poached chicken which means most of the work is done ahead of time.

Poaching is a wonderful way to infuse flavor into less flavorful boneless, skinless chicken breast. The tarragon, parsley and chives add freshness while the peppercorns, wine and bay leave create a wonderfully complex sauce. Enjoy this warm or cold. Make extra for chicken salad.

This takes everything you love about baked lemon chicken and serves it up on a skewer. Tart lemon juice, floral zest and brown sugar gain je ne said quoi complexity from a hint of Paprika and soy sauce. It arrives on your plate sticky, sweet and sour with just the right amount of char, hot off summer grill.

Smashing cucumbers creates extra surface area to hold the vinaigrette. This dish is traditionally served as a respite for the palate amidst often spicy Szechuan cuisine. I think it’s wonderful with meats hot off the grill or alongside cold peanut noodles on a particularly sultry summer night.

This may sound like the traditional freezer section combo of peas and carrots but everything else about this dish is fresh and exciting. An Indian-inspired blend of spices adds complexity with warm cumin, bitter mustard, earthy turmeric and bright ginger. Not unfamiliar, but a little unexpected.

This cooked egg mayonnaise balances rich egg yolk and oil with the sharp, savory flavors of capers, cornichons and fresh herbs. The comforting and complex sauce is perfect served over asparagus, roasted waxy potatoes, with fish or cold chicken served outdoors.

Thinly slivered, raw asparagus tops tender, fresh egg pasta. Rich ricotta and a sweet, complex drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar adds just enough complexity to make things interesting but still, well…easy. A perfect late spring supper when you’re just starting to get bored with asparagus.

This is strawberries and rhubarb without the work of making a pie. This silky, shiny, cardamom and black pepper-spiced sauce is ready in 10 minutes for a simple, delicious and fresh taste of spring.

This is Pasta Primavera at it’s best with truly seasonal, bright spring ingredients. A sauce of sweet cream is light yet rich without dulling the farm-fresh vegetables. There are a number of components here. Read the directions twice before starting

Carnitas are traditionally chunks of fatty pork shoulder, braised until tender with orange, epazote, cinnamon and bay leaf, then chopped and crisped up in its own rendered fat. Not that it needed any improving upon, but roast pork belly is a pretty darn delicious way to gild this lily.

The reverse sear delivers a crisp caramelized crust with the same even temperature from edge-to-edge. This means every bite of your steak is steak house quality perfect every time you cook it!

Egg drop soup is a light first course with with threads of cooked egg floating in chicken stock while just a few vegetables - think the scallions and tiny cubes of tofu in miso soup - add flavor without weight. It feels like a cool spring day to me: comforting enough to warm the belly but light enough that it won’t feel out of place if sunshine warms the air.