Curried Peanut and Tomato Soup by Gloria Bass

I adore this soup - so easy to make, delicious and satisfying. I've also made it with chunks of sweet potato added for a stand-alone meal soup. The distinct flavors of fresh cilantro and curry powder, along with the unexpected addition of peanut butter, turn a simple tomato-based soup into something special. You can make it…

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes by Gloria Bass

These are light, fluffy and good enough to eat without any toppings at all. Great for a weekend breakfast, they also freeze and reheat well. Adapted from a post on Ideas in Food, further taken from Nigella Lawson.

Vegetarian Asian Noodles by Keely Locke

You can add tofu, chicken, pork or shrimp to this dish, as well as any of your favorite veggies. You can substitute peanut butter or almond butter for the tahini, and if you want a spicier dish, you can add more chili-garlic sauce. For a more authentic dish, you can use Chinese egg noodles, udon, soba or dried or fresh ramen noodles.

Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp by Gloria Bass

An easy, flavorful curry, great for a first-time Thai style dish. Recipe from SFGate's best-of competitions.

Cranberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake by Gloria Bass

This delicious coffee cake is more like pound cake, but with a tart cranberry filling. You can substitute blueberries or any berry 'jam' as the filling. Add a teaspoon of minced lemon zest to flavor the cake if you like. It's great served with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream. A mashup of two recipes I found on Epicurious…

Lightened Stuffed French Toast by Michelann Quimby

Spicy Grilled Salmon Fillets by Gloria Bass

A great treatment for salmon that is high on flavor, but low on time and effort. Cooks easily in a heavy nonstick or cast-iron skillet, or outside on the grill. Delicious served with fragrant basmati rice and steamed asparagus. Though you can never go wrong buying good quality fresh salmon, I buy the individually quick-frozen,…

Arrabbiata Sauce by Gloria Bass

This easy, versatile sauce is revved up with a jolt of crushed red pepper for extra flavor. Perfect over penne pasta, with shrimp, scallops or Italian sausage, it also makes a great vegetarian main course without the seafood. This sauce freezes and reheats very well. I make and freeze extra batches to have on hand for quick meals.

Caribbean Beef Ragout with Coconut rice by Keely Locke

A nice vegetable stew accompanied by yummy coconut rice! Also diabetic friendly without the rice.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies by Michelann Quimby

This is adapted from a Cooking Light recipe.