The Perfect Pantry®

Recipe for Greek pasta salad with sun-dried tomato vinaigrette

In a typical winter, we'd be tromping through snow banks, shoveling our paths, digging out our cars, waiting for the plow guy to come and extricate our driveway. This year (and I don't mean to jinx us by saying this), we've had February days warm enough for T-shirts and sidewalk café dining. Everything here in southern New England seems out of season; if you don't believe me, wander in my garden, where rosemary, thyme, oregano and even parsley still show some green. It's not quite as warm here as the Greek Isles, but the sight of fresh herbs in my mid-winter garden makes me crave Mediterranean flavors. For this Greek pasta salad, I reached into the pantry for the sun-dried tomato vinaigrette ingredients. You might want to make extra dressing, to keep in the refrigerator for a quick sauce for warm pasta, a dip for crudites, or a sandwich slather.

Recipe for kale salad with mushrooms and mustard vinaigrette

Perhaps I should start a feature called I don't love (fill in the blank), but I'm trying it again. I've pledged to eat more dark leafy greens this year, and that doesn't come naturally to me. Spinach is about the darkest I go; the rest I find too bitter, unless they are cooked beyond recognition or boiled to death in soup. Kale is everywhere these days, and though I might well be the last person to try kale chips, I am jumping on the raw kale bandwagon with glee, thanks to this kale salad with mushrooms and mustard vinaigrette. This version adds the smoky saltiness of bacon; I made a vegetarian version (no bacon, more olive oil) for the recent holidays, and it was equally irresistible. I'm crossing kale off my I don't love list. I now, officially, love raw kale.

Recipe for red rice salad with roasted beets, sun-dried tomatoes, cherries and nuts

Professional caterers and food stylists tell us that every platter needs something green, leaves or herbs or green doilies, if such things exist, to "pop" the colors of the food. This red rice salad pops all by itself, and I'm not talking only about the dazzling colors of the beets, sun-dried tomatoes and cherries (red! red! red!). In a sea of heavy holiday dishes, this vegan salad with tangy dried cherries -- plus your own slow-roasted tomatoes in place of sun-dried ones, if you made them last summer -- pops with just enough tartness to balance a table of rich potatoes and puddings. Red rice is neither easy to come by, nor inexpensive; you can find it online if not in your local gourmet shop. It's well worth the hunt, as the nutty and decidedly un-mushy texture of the rice makes it great for salads. If you can't find it, substitute red quinoa. With the nuts, this dish satisfies as a hearty vegan main course.

Winter squash panzanella recipe

Panzanella, a rustic Italian salad, transforms stale bread into the most desirable mate for ripe tomatoes (and their juices), onions, olives and basil. My garden gave up on tomatoes and basil a couple of months ago, but I always seem to have some leftover bread on hand. In this winter squash panzanella, I paired sweet roasted acorn squash with sautéed red onions, pecans, and a bit of feta. A bright sherry vinaigrette brings it all together, and the roasted squash seeds complete the dish. Remember that this salad begins with leftovers, so substitute freely with any roasted vegetables you have on hand. And if you don't have any stale bread, cut what you do have into cubes and dry it in the oven for 15 minutes before adding to the salad.