Celery

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Have some carrot sticks, sweet gherkin pickles and buttered dinner rolls with the salad; if the picnic is taking place in the back yard, offer some corn on the cob as well. Oversize oatmeal cookies and watermelon wedges are a great finish. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

An easy homemade barbecue sauce makes anything you grill taste even better! Makes lots since it keeps for weeks in the refrigerator.

Vegetable broth is rich and delicious when made correctly. The peels add color and vitamins, and the mushrooms lend great flavor. There are many varieties of veggie broth in cans too. Try both homemade and canned. You also can substitute canned chicken broth for the Fresh Vegetable Broth in any recipe.

Green chilies, cumin, and chorizo flavor this spicy southwestern rendition of the eastern seaboard classic.

"While visiting my daughter near Portland, Oregon, I ordered the soup of the day at Mother's Bistro & Bar," writes Roslyn Levy of Palm Harbor, Florida. "It turned out to be the best sweet-potato soup I've ever had." Buy leafy celery stalks for this soup; the chopped leaves make a great garnish.

Chinese viceroy Li Hung Chang, visiting San Francisco's Palace Hotel in the 1890s, requested vegetables with a bit of meat "job suey," or "in fine pieces," and chef Joseph Herder obliged.

To cut down on prep time, use cooked lobster meat, available in some fish markets and supermarkets, or follow the directions below for cooking frozen lobster tails.

For convenience, you can use a purchased roast chicken or substitute smoked turkey.

Two tricks to a more healthful egg salad: light mayonnaise and fewer egg yolks.

Brining ensures moist, succulent meat, and this recipe from Bruce Aidells, chef and founder of Aidells Sausage Company, could not be easier or more low-tech. The special equipment required? Two 30-gallon plastic bags and one very large (16-quart) bowl that will fit in the fridge. You'll want to get started a day ahead, because the turkey is brined for 18 to 20 hours. Stuffing this turkey is not recommended; the brine remaining in the meat may soak into the stuffing during roasting.