The Perfect Pantry®

Recipe for iceberg lettuce (or green salad) with lighter Thousand Island dressing {vegetarian}

As a child in the 1960s, I couldn't help but fall in love with bell bottom pants and tie-dyed T-shirts, Doris Day movies, the Beatles, and iceberg lettuce wedges. Going out for a fancy dinner meant starting with a perfect triangle of crispy, ice-cold iceberg topped with sweet Thousand Island dressing. I know it's hard to imagine now that this was a delicacy way back when, but it was a treat we always anticipated with glee when we went to the "fine dining" restaurants in the suburbs. Today, it's a retro salad that will bring smiles to the faces of everyone at your table, for the same reason we loved it when I was a child -- because it's good. I've lightened up the mix a bit with nonfat Greek yogurt and reduced-calorie mayonnaise, though the amount of mayo is small enough that it really doesn't make a huge difference if you use the real thing. If you don't have a bottle of sweet green relish in your fridge (it always comes in the picnic packs with ketchup and yellow mustard), chop some pickles and capers instead, and add a tiny bit of sugar. Now, does this salad bring back memories for you?

Recipe for roasted cabbage, apple and pecan salad with mustard vinaigrette {vegan, gluten-free}

Now that it's Spring, officially, I know you're ready for greener-than-green recipes starring pungent ramps and crunchy peas and crisp spears of asparagus. I'm ready, too, but here in New England, Spring in March is more theory than reality, with snow still blanketing the garden. Nevertheless, I've got something green-ish for you, this lovely side dish of roasted cabbage with apples and pecans. I'm determined to eat more cooked cabbage this year, and roasting turns the leaves soft and sweet. Combine that with some crisp apples, not too tart, and toasted pecans, and this is a side dish that will compliment any main course protein (roasted chicken, grilled steak, baked fish). The ingredients are available year-round, and that's exactly when you should make this salad.

Recipe for corn and black bean salad with sweet lime dressing {vegan, gluten-free}

Here in New England, corn season lasts for six weeks, and these middle-of-March weeks are not the weeks for fresh corn. Don't let that stop you from enjoying this gorgeous vegan and gluten-free side salad. Buy frozen organic corn kernels or frozen fire-roasted corn (if you're lucky enough to have a Trader Joe's market nearby). Combine the corn with canned or cooked black beans; I'm using my new pressure cooker to make large batches of beans, so I always have some on hand. Add a squirt of lime for a bright, fresh flavor. You'll forget that it's winter. When corn season arrives, make this salad with fresh corn kernels and bell pepper from your garden, and it will be that much better. Serve it with salmon (oh, the colors!) or roast chicken.

Recipe for roasted chickpea salad with creamy tahini dressing {vegetarian, gluten-free}

HERE'S THE THING: I love hummus -- the creamy, garlicky, nutty Middle Eastern spread made with chickpeas and tahini -- but I don't really love chickpeas. It's got to be a texture issue because, well... I love hummus. So, a couple of weeks ago I had the idea to take hummus apart and put it back together, to see if I could combine all of the flavors I love in a dish that would help me love chickpeas, and what I created was this simple salad. Roasting the chickpeas gave them just enough crunch to change the texture but not the flavor, and all the remaining components of hummus went into the dressing. I added some crisp chopped iceberg lettuce, which seemed perfect. You could keep going and pile on more fixings like olives, tomatoes and cucumber, to make a main course salad.

Tofu and Brussels sprouts fried rice recipe {vegan}

To be honest, if it weren't for my occasional complete and utter laziness in the kitchen, I might never have considered Brussels sprouts for any stir-fry dish. Yes, it's easy to trim the woody bottoms of a few sprouts and thinly slice them for this recipe, but it's even easier to grab a package of shaved Brussels sprouts from the grocery store shelf. I'm not a huge fan of cruciferous vegetables, so to get them into my diet, I cook them with seasonings I know I will like. There are a dozen fried rice recipes on The Perfect Pantry, and now a baker's dozen, as this tofu and Brussels sprouts fried rice is going into permanent rotation in my kitchen. With a quick stir-fry, the sprouts turn bright green and sweet, making them irresistible, even to me. If you don't like tofu, you can swap in any other protein (shrimp, pork, even leftover rotisserie chicken). Remember to cook your rice ahead of time, so it can cool; you can make it days ahead, and store it in the refrigerator. If your rice is pre-cooked, and you sneak into the grocery store for a package of shaved Brussels sprouts, this dish comes together in minutes.