Heat the oven to 400°F. Grease a large roasting pan with oil. Place the beets in the pan, drizzle with the 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and the sesame oil, and toss to coat. Sprinkle with garlic powder and a pinch of salt.

Roast, undisturbed, for 20 minutes. Check on them and add oil if they are sticking to the pan. Continue roasting, turning every 10 minutes or so, until crisp on the outside and just tender inside, another 20 to 30 minutes.

While the beets are roasting, mix 1/3 cup chopped walnuts with 2 tablespoons honey in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Meanwhile, put the peppercorns and white sesame seeds in a spice or coffee grinder grind to a coarse powder. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the orange zest, chili powder, and poppy seeds. When the beets are cooked toss them with the half of the spice mixture, a pinch of salt, and the scallions. Then toss in the honeyed walnuts. Return to the oven for a minute or 2 to toast the spices and walnuts. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Keep the leftover seasoning in the fridge and use for meat or other veggies within a day or 2. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Place flour, garlic powder, paprika, pepper and salt in a large plastic bag or bowl. Stir to mix. Add scallops and toss to coat. Set aside.

Heat olive oil on medium heat. Once hot sauté onion and garlic for 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.

Add Orzo and toss to coat and toast up a bit, 2 minutes.

Add white wine and broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a low simmer for 15 minutes.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Once hot add the scallops to the pan, being sure not to overcrowd (they should not touch each other). Cook in batches if needed. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.

All scallops are different sizes, so a good way to test to your preferred level of done-ness is to take one and cut it in half to be very sure. I also look for the amount of liquid coming from the scallops, when this starts to disappear they are usually done, you do not want to overcook.

In a blender, combine the oil, capers, vinegar, parsley, and black pepper. No salt is needed because of the saltiness and flavor of the capers.

Turn the blender on low for 30 seconds to create a creamy emulsion. Taste and add more pepper or vinegar if needed.

In a large bowl mix together the two types of greens. Top with the chickpeas, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, onion, egg, and feta. For a traditional cobb serve with each ingredient in a large bunch on top of the lettuce. I chose to sprinkle it all over in layers.

Once you are ready to serve pour the dressing over the salad and toss, then serve. If you have any leftover ingredients you could serve those as add-on toppings on the side.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Place the cabbage in the boiling water and cook, turning it in the pot once or twice, until it begins to get tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the cabbage (do not pour out the water) and rinse the leaves with cool water to stop the cooking. Pull off the 10 largest, most intact leaves, then chop the remaining leaves and put them in a large bowl. Return the pot to a boil and stir in the rice. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes then drain.

Add the cooked rice, raw ground beef, scallions, peppers, jalapeño, garlic, and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper to the bowl of chopped cabbage and mix just enough to combine. Put a large spoonful of the rice mixture into a cabbage leaf, taking care not to overfill, and roll loosely. Shoot for 8 cabbage rolls, but if you have extra filling use more of the leaves. Put the rolls seam side down in the bottom of a large pot or dutch oven; it's okay to stack them on top of each other in the pot.

Add the tomatoes and their juice to the pot along with 1 cup of water, the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves, and some salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat so that the mixture barely bubbles and cook, undisturbed, for 30 minutes. Check to see if there's still liquid in the pot. The cabbage should be just submerged; if not, add a little water. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes before checking again.

When the rolls have plumped up and absorbed most of the liquid, and are firm, turn off the heat and let rest, for at least 10 minutes. Put the rolled cabbage in shallow bowls, removing the whole spices as your find them. Taste the pot juices and adjust seasoning as needed. Pour a big ladleful over the cabbage rolls and serve.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Put the vegetable oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s very hot, sprinkle the sea bass on both sides with salt and pepper and sear it in the pan until nicely browned on both sides, about 6 minutes total. Remove from the pan and cut or flake it into bite-size pieces. (you need to flip and remove it gently so it doesn't break apart)

Reduce the heat under the skillet to medium. Add bell peppers and cook 5 minutes to soften. Then add the garlic and sesame seeds and cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic begins to soften and the sesame seeds turn golden, about 30 seconds. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, for another minute or 2. Add the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and a splash of water and cook until the spinach is wilted, another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Cook the noodles in the boiling water until they’re tender but not mushy (start tasting after 5 minutes), then drain and rinse, reserving some of the cooking water. Turn the heat under the spinach mixture to medium and add the noodles. Toss, adding enough reserved liquid to keep things moist. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve pasta on the side of the fish.

Place carrots and parsnips in just enough water to cover them and bring to boil. Add a pinch of salt. Boil until soft, about 45 minutes, then drain. Return carrots and parsnips to your pot and let them dry over the lowest possible heat for 10 minutes. Puree carrots in food processor or by hand (I used a potato masher and did this by hand) and add nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool for a couple minutes. Boil a small salted pot of water (this will be used to test the dough).

Combine both flours in mixing bowl. Add carrots to mixing bowl and stir until just combined. Pinch off a piece of the dough and boil in your test pot it to make sure it holds its shape. If it falls apart add more flour to mixture, until gnocchi just holds together.

Turn dough onto floured surface and roll into 1/2-inch ropes. Cut rope into 1-inch pieces. Arrange gnocchi on a floured baking sheet then cover with a towel. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or up to 2 hours. (At this point the gnocchi can be frozen on the sheet pan, then transferred to a plastic bag for 3 months. Do not thaw before boiling.)

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Also heat oil, butter, and sage over medium low heat in a large skillet. Heat until sage begins to crackle and butter begins to lightly brown. If butter is browning a lot turn down the heat. Cook a few gnocchi at a time in boiling water, until 1 minute after they rise to the surface. Transfer cooked gnocchi to skillet with a slotted spoon and lightly toss to coat. Continue process until all gnocchi are covered in the sage brown butter sauce.

Serve immediately.

Combine the lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, chile flakes, and sugar if you’re using it in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon water. Set aside, this is your dipping sauce.

Fried:

Heat the oven to 275° F. Put the sweet potato, corn, chile, scallions, cilantro, egg, and flour in a bowl and mix well; sprinkle with salt and pepper. (You can do this ahead of time and refrigerate the batter for a couple of hours before cooking.)

Put about 1/8 inch oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, drop spoonfuls of the sweet potato mixture into the oil and spread them out a bit. (Work in batches to prevent overcrowding and transfer the finished fritters to the oven until all are finished.) Cook, turning once, until golden on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature with the dipping sauce.

Baked:

Heat the oven to 400° F. Greased a baking sheet well with vegetable oil. Place golf ball sized balls of batter onto the baking sheet. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature with the dipping sauce.

Fancier Fritters:

When dropped fritters aren’t quite elegant enough for the occasion, you can dust your hands with flour and shape the fritter batter into small patties, cylinders, or other shapes. Cook immediately or refrigerate, loosely covered, for up to a couple hours before cooking. To make croquettes–which are essentially breaded fritters–set up 3 bowls: one with flour, one with an egg beaten with a splash of milk, and another with bread crumbs (preferably made from whole grain bread). Carefully dredge each shaped fritter in the flour, then the egg mixture, and finally the bread crumbs. Fry until crisp and golden.

In a small bowl combine sugar, yeast, and 1/4 cup warm water and let sit 5 minutes or until it becomes foamy. In a stand mixer combine the flour, salt, and baking powder with the dough hook and blend. You could also use a food processor with the dough blade.

Pour the yeast mixture, garlic, milk, yogurt, egg, 2 tablepoons of vegetable oil, and 3/4 cup warm water into the bowl and knead until the dough forms a ball that is smooth and elastic. About 5-8 minutes in a stand mixer, less by processor, and more by hand. The dough should be soft without being sticky. If it’s sticky, add more flour.

Put the dough in a lightly-oiled large bowl. Turn the dough around to coat oil on all sides and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm, draft-free place for 60 to 90 minutes. In my house the oven is the only place for this with a towel over it. Punch down the dough and cut it into 8-10 pieces. Roll the pieces into balls and set on a floured baking sheet. Cover with damp kitchen towl and let rise again, until doubled in size (about 40 to 60 minutes).

Melt a little butter on a hot skillet. You are going to use the 3 tablespoons to cook all 8-10 pieces of naan. Just cut a little piece off and throw it in the pan in between cooking each piece of naan. With your hands, flatten each piece of naan into a flat oval like shape. (I flattened one piece each time another piece was cooking)

Brush the naan with water and place it water-side down in the skillet. Cook for about a minute. Large bubbles should begin to pop up on the surface. Brush the top of the naan with water and flip it over for another minute or so. Place in a basket covered with a napkin or towel to keep warm. Optional: brush with more butter or ghee and/or garlic. I did not as they were already covered in butter from the pan. Repeat until you have 8-10 naan adding more butter to the pan as needed between cooking.