Bean and Ham Hock Soup by PegS

The final recipe was 8 cups broth, 1/2 lb of small lima beans, 1/2 lbs of small Northern beans, a med parsnip, two small carrots, an onion, six cloves of garlic, a handful of dried thyme, the ham hock, and some collard greens. The weird mix was my attempt to make as nutritious a mix as possible while still having it taste like a smokey white bean soup.

WONDERFUL SUMMERY CHICKEN SALAD by Sicut Cervus

(or presumably year-round in LA!)

Make dressing: 3 T chutney, 1/3 cup mayonnaise, 1/3 cup yoghurt, 1/4 teaspoon cardamom, juice of 1 lime, 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Combine in large bowl: cups cold cooked chicken (around 2 whole breasts) cut into chunks, 1 large peach or medium-sized mango cut into chunks, 2 cups melon (honeydew and/or canteloupe) cut into chunks, 1 cup blueberries, 2 green onions, minced

Add dressing, stir gently, refrigerate before serving.

White Bean and Ham Hock Soup by PaganMama

This has been one of my standards this winter. I crock-pot it. So easy. Soak a pound of white beans (navy beans, whatever) overnight. Finely chop a bunch o/onion, carrots, celery. Drain beans. Throw beans, veggies, and smoked ham hock in crock pot. Cover with water. Cook on slow all day. Remove ham hock and dice meat; return. If you like, puree a portion of the soup to make it creamier. Add salt and pepper. Enjoy very much.

Pickled Lemons by bookseller

simplest version, which is best with Meyer lemons but just fine with ordinaries too: Take a lemon and split it into quarters the long way, but stop cutting just before you reach the bottom: The lemon will look (if you're inclined this way) like a wee four-petaled flower opening its heart to the warmth of the sun.

Now cram that puppy with as much kosher salt -- do NOT use regular table salt -- as you can, and sorta squeeze it shut. Stuff it into a jar, ideally one that is only marginally larger than the lemon. Repeat with as many lemons as the jar will hold, and fill up the jar with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Put the lid on, turn the jar upside down every few days for a couple of weeks, and hey presto, preserved lemons.

If you like, you can add any or all of the following, in proportions that seem nice: cinnamon sticks, coriander seeds, peppercorns, cracked cardamoms, cloves (careful with these; they are stronger than you think), cumin seeds (I'd toast them -- VERY lightly -- first), fennel seeds, mustard seeds. Also, I like to float some olive oil on top of the jar, partly because it keeps the (corrosive) lemon juice and salt from coming in contact with the metal bottom of the lid (assuming you're using good old Ball canning jars, which are the easiest and cheapest to find) and partly because it makes a semi-airtight seal and thus helps prevent any bacterial growth, though the acid and salt mean that's really not going to be much of an issue.

Sadly, I have never managed to make a jar that didn't start to look murky and a little scary, but the lemons are wonderful anyway. And even though recipes usually tell you to use only the rind, I use the entire lemon and find it perfectly delightful. And I have two bags of Meyers sitting in my fridge right now, for this very purpose, so you're inspiring me.

Really, it could not be easier, and they are my secret weapon for perking up any soup or stew that tastes a bit stodgy -- you know if a pot of Lentil Stuff is tasting like something you might have been served at the cafe attached to a particularly virtuous food co-op circa 1972, these will make it all zingy and delish.

Baked Spiced Chicken with Cauliflower/Sunchoke Gratin by bookseller

I made a paste of olive oil, hot pepper flakes, fresh thyme and rosemary, and some minced shallot, smeared it all over some chicken thighs, and let them sit at room temp for about an hour. They went into a 450-degree oven for 20 minutes, then got splashed with a little white wine and baked another 20, and finally got scattered with some whole garlic cloves, a little chopped bacon, and a handful of Moroccan olives and cooked for yet another 20. The herbs and -- interestingly -- the flavor of the olives really permeated the chicken meat, and all the fat rendered out so the skin was thin and crisp.

On the side I had a rather PITA but extremely delicious gratin of cauliflower and jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes)cooked in cream and chicken broth with, bizarrely, curry powder, horseradish, and more fresh thyme, with sliced almonds browned on top. This was a bit of an experiment: I am doing the low-carb thing (as if all that bacon and cream didn't tip you off), and I wanted to see if jerusalem artichokes would make a decent potato substitute.