Weeknight Kitchen

The Mediterranean is rich in mussels, in particular in the rocky coastal regions. They are also abundant in the coastal regions of the United States. Cozze, or mussels, are a very popular dish in Italy, especially around Naples. It seems that just about every Italian American restaurant has some rendition of a mussels dish: alla Posillipo (spicy tomato sauce), alla marinara (mild fresh tomato sauce), and so on. Well, here is a spicy one. Mussels are not an expensive seafood and deliver a lot of flavor if fresh and still briny from the sea. Otherwise, save your San Marzano for another dish.

Chard grows easily. How gratifying that it's cut-and-come-again. If you have a plot for chard, you learn to harvest a huge quantity and steam an enormous potful at once. Then you drain and cool the much-reduced clump of greens, squeeze out the water, and form softball-size balls. What a boon for the cook. You can freeze these balls individually in plastic wrap. They're then ready for soups or this very typical saut é. Always use most of the stems, cut into small hunks. Kale works just as well in this recipe.

Kir Jensen, a pastry chef and owner of The Sugar Cube food cart in Portland, Oregon, created these crepes to go with the roasted rhubarb and lemon cream recipes. But these nutty crepes would be great in many of the sweet recipes in this book, or eaten on their own with just a smear of butter and a drizzle of honey. Look for almond paste and almond meal in the baking section of your local supermarket. (When choosing almond paste, avoid marzipan, which is not the same thing.) Almond meal is very finely ground almonds; it's like a coarse flour.

This is the quintessential spring luncheon dish, all about the sweetness that's finally bursting up in gardens — long-awaited asparagus, shallot and carrot — made rich with sweet cream. It's also about the way that sweetness seems more pronounced against the salty ham and the tangy mustard.

Man, do I love Australia. First, my oldest daughter was conceived there on our honeymoon…and while we're on the subject, have I ever shared with you that we almost named her Sydney as a nod to her... um... point of origin? In the end, I chickened out, though —I thought that might be a little corny. Or awkward to explain. Or…nevermind.

A celestial trio of Italian ingredients — dried figs, sliced prosciutto, and creamy Gorgonzola — makes an irresistible filling for boneless chicken breasts. Once stuffed and skewered, the breasts are pan-seared, then quickly roasted until golden brown. A glaze made with honey and balsamic vinegar gives the chicken a polished look and complements the distinctive flavors of the stuffing.

Gould farm in Monterey, Massachusetts, is a farm like many others in some respects —there are acres of organic gardens along both sides of the narrow road and cows that greet you with their kind stares. Up the hill there are pigs and chickens, and there is a dairy where Cheddar is cultured and aged before traveling to stores all over this part of the state. Poke your head into any door or walk through the garden beds and you will find staff and volunteers hard at work.

This salad is delicious for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It's easy to make (particularly if you have cooked farro on hand), healthy, and satisfying. To add more spice, fold preserved Calabrian chiles or pickled chiles into the farro in place of the Aleppo pepper. If you're an anchovy fan, add some chopped anchovy to the saute pan along with the garlic. In place of the broccoli raab, try toasted broccoli or cauliflower. Or prepare the salad without the eggs and add a handful of tiny cubes of aged or fresh pecorino.

We devised this simple recipe in order to encourage our daughters to get used to eating green-colored food. Both of them still love this dish, even though they both eventually graduated to other green vegetables.