We like to make this in the summer. It's good with barbecued meat. We have only ever made it with edamame (fresh soy beans). Definitely use fresh corn if available. Lots of fresh ground black pepper is good, too.

This is a great recipe for kids who love macaroni and cheese. We have made it with different types of pasta (rotini, gemelli), and have substituted the cauliflower and broccoli with boiled and mashed butternut squash. The squash adds a lovely orange color and sweet flavour without being overpowering.

This is a great pasta dish because it basically covers all the bases so it's super-healthy (and relatively fast to make). There's your veg: onion, carrots, potato, and spinach (though I've done it without spinach). There's your protein: pasta, kidney beans and parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano is best). It sounds TOO healthy, but it tastes great! Even my six-year-old will eat it.

Oh yes, and you don't have to make it with shell pasta as the recipe suggests - I've used fusilli and rotini.

I made this with my 4-year-old. She did ask what the green stuff was (a cup of pureed broccoli) but I just said, "Green stuff." She didn't say anything about the half-cup of pureed carrot. There are a lot of spices (ginger, allspice, cloves) to mask the broccoli (I presume) so it smells like pumpkin pie while it's baking. Not a bad thing... Both my girls loved it! My older daughter took it school for a snack. I thought it was fine, especially with a slice of old cheddar, but my husband thought it could use raisins. I will definitely make it again.

Very yummy! We used dried cranberries instead of cherries - I think they're most easily available and less expensive. These cookies are definitely not too sweet, but my kids still gobbled them up. Easy to make and you can keep the dough in the freezer (up to 3 months) until you need more.

This is one of our absolute favourites! The meatballs are delicious and we make it using whole wheat spaghetti. I recommend making the sauce from scratch, but you could also use bottled tomato sauce. The meat balls (uncooked) also freeze very well. Form the meat balls on a baking tray and put the tray in the freezer. When the balls are frozen, place them in a Ziploc freezer bag. You can add the frozen meat balls to other pasta sauce as well.

This crisp is great when made with nice, fresh local rhubarb - one of the treats of summer. Excellent with ice cream on the side! Don't cut back on the sugar!

This is a GREAT soup. The fresh lime is essential. We make this soup at least once every winter. Very quick and simple.

It's amazing how easy it is to make this - and it tastes better than the usual store-bought hummus.

I would suggest using a food processor, as I nearly gave my blender a heart attack. It can be quite thick and gluey.

I cooked dried chick peas using the quick-soak method (page 411) - boiling for 3 minutes then soaking for 2 hours, then I put the chick peas in a slow cooker (with more water) for about 4 hours.

This is one of my favourite pasta sauces. It is very rich and chunky. I usually use brown sugar instead of honey. Sometimes I add the fresh parsley and sometimes I don't. Sometimes we add some meat - usually we have a supply of frozen raw turkey burgers (homemade). It's easy to part-thaw one, chop it up, and add it to the sauce. Another vegetarian alternative is to chop up and add a Moneys Mushroom burger or two.

This is a great recipe to use up lots of veggies at the end of the summer when they are cheap! We used to go to a farm stand in early September and get enormous eggplants, bell peppers, etc. Don't omit or skimp on the spices. Great with olives, which are optional. I haven't tried the spicy version yet.

This recipe is VERY healthy sounding, but it is surprisingly tasty. Good for using up any dried soy beans you have sitting around in the cupboard. The feta is essential. Also, it might be good with a few chopped Kalamata olives. It would be interesting to find out if it freezes well.

This is a great dish to make for dinner (or lunch) on a hot summer day. I have substituted quinoa for couscous and fresh fava beans for chickpeas. Also, regarding the dressing, you can get away with not using any chipotle or hot sauce, though it is nice with a bit of spice. I also substitute the honey (or molasses) with maple syrup.

I LOVE this meatloaf! (Can also be make with ground Turkey). Excellent with mashed potatoes and green beans (or peas). It also freezes very well. Make two and freeze one. I have fond memories of eating this (from frozen) as a new parent.

I love a good mushroom risotto! For this recipe, we used dried porcini mushrooms and for the fresh mushrooms we used crimini (brown). The main flavour of the dish is overwhelmingly mushroom, so if you don't happen to have fresh thyme you can get away with dried. And it probably won't matter too much if you don't add the dry white wine, either.