Squash

As a child, food editor Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez regularly enjoyed the hearty stew that her grandmother Mary Pacella prepared as a way to use up surplus produce from the garden. Today, however, Miraglia Eriquez makes it as often as she can during the summer and early fall, using garden produce at its peak.

Pumpkin is a member of the gourd family. Its flesh is fibrous and firm, and has an earthy, sometimes sweet, taste. It is used in Asian cooking in a number of ways, both savory and sweet. When buying pumpkin check that the skin is not pitted and that the stem is still intact. Rich in beta-carotene, pumpkins can help protect the body against heart disease.

Luxurious and vegetarian.

Kid-size and super-easy to make, these Halloween cupcakes are the perfect festive treats for the holiday.

Linguine with mussels gets fit for fall with roasted butternut squash and wilted spinach. Briny and sweet mussels complement the richness of the squash.

This fall salad balances earthy, tangy, sweet, and creamy flavors.

A squeeze of lime unites all the flavors of these new-wave quesadillas.

A flaky phyllo crust, layered with butter and a pumpkin pie–spice sugar forms the crust for this silky well-spiced pie.

Summer's bounty gets even better when it's combined in a fresh-tasting pasta.

What you have here—sun-gold bands of decoratively arranged vegetables and clear, immediate flavors enriched with Parmigiano-Reggiano—is an absolute stunner. And, because the torte must be made ahead and weighted (to release excess liquid), it's ideal for entertaining. Serve it with anything grilled (fish, chicken, or lamb, for instance) and your guests will be over the moon.

Especially in northern Turkey where the climate approximates northern coastal United States, pumpkins and pumpkin-like sweet winter squash are grown. Hazelnuts are also grown there, along the Black Sea. They combine well in this dessert.

Smoky grilled vegetables—not a cloying amount of meat or cheese—rule here. Instead of embellishing the enchiladas with a complex (and time-consuming) Mexican pipián (pumpkin-seed sauce), cook a few customary pipián ingredients and then purée them with cilantro for an easy enchilada that's herbaceous and fresh.

The piquancy of little sweet-and-sour squash helps balance the lavishness of the creamed corn and okra stew. The surprise ingredient here is maple syrup: It adds a more rounded flavor to the pickles than sugar. A mixture of tiny green, yellow, and pattypan squash makes a visual impact, but slices of regular zucchini would be delicious, too.

This velvety soup has no cream except for the little bit of sour cream that's spooned on top. It's perfect for summer entertaining: All of the components can be prepared a day ahead.

The herbes de Provence blend is even better when it's made from fresh herbs. Here, it creates an elegant pairing for a colorful mix of summer vegetables and halibut.

Chef Jimmy Shaw cooks up tacos that stars can enjoy without guilt. Authentic Mexican dishes like this one are flavorful and naturally lowfat, he says.