Portobello Mushrooms

Giant portobello mushrooms are terrific as a side dish for grilled fish or steak, or as a vegetarian main dish "steak." Paired with grilled sweet red peppers on a kaiser roll, they make delectable sandwiches. Buy a block of good-quality Parmesan or other sharp cheese and use a vegetable peeler to shave it straight off the block.

Broiled Tofu With No-Cook Peanut Sauce

Broiling tofu gives it a crispy texture without the hassle of deep-frying. The peanut sauce is so versatile that it can double as a veggie dip or be tossed with cold pasta and chicken for lunch. Picky eaters may prefer red peppers, carrot or sugar snap peas instead of broccoli, so just substitute your favourite vegetable.

Creamy Chicken and Pea Pasta

Pleasing everyone at the dinner table can be a challenge, but with the winning combination of chicken and pasta, this dish is sure to be a hit.This is a great way to use up leftover breasts and thighs, or you can buy a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store for a fast weeknight meal. Add pepper to taste.

Speedy Asparagus and Chicken Piccata with Herbed Couscous

Because chicken cutlets are much thinner than whole chicken breasts, they cook much more quickly and save time. You can buy chicken breasts already sliced into cutlets, or simply cut whole boneless breasts in half horizontally. Asparagus works beautifully in this recipe, but snow peas or sweet peppers would be delicious as well, so work with whatever you happen to have on hand.

Ground Beef Pide

A delicious alternative to traditional pizza, pide is a Turkish flatbread shaped as a boat and baked in a brick or stone oven. Here we serve up a ground beef pide, but the options are limitless!

Toppings vary widely but most often include ground meat with onion, tomato, parsley and spices, as well as cheese, eggs, mushrooms, peppers, spinach and sausage.

Curry Shepherd's Pie

With the addition of curry powder, this caserole is a spicy twist on a family favourite. And feel free to experiment with the addition of chopped hot spicy peppers if you desire more of a kick. I like to use a mixture of ground beef and pork. You could stick to the tradition of using ground lamb if you prefer.

Thai Devilled Eggs

While this twist on a classic already has a little kick from the chili garlic sauce, spice lovers might want extra heat in the form of a thin slice of Thai bird's-eye pepper on top. Older eggs tend to be easier to peel, but you can help the process by adding 1 tsp baking soda to the boiling water.

Mango White Fish with Mango Salsa

I really like fish of any kind. Since white fish is plentiful in Alberta, I decided to dress it up using colorful ingredients. Our farmer markets in Edmonton give us fresh supplies of vegetables at this time of the year. Spring is here and color is happening, therefore, I thought that a salsa of different peppers would be ideal at this time of the year.

Candied Chilies

Cooking Thai peppers in simple syrup gives you a sweet and spicy flavour booster that can be added to savoury dishes as well as desserts. Try sprinkling some onto stir-fries or pizza, or using them to coat cheese balls. Or, for an unexpected kick, mix them into chocolate cake batter or a curd for lemon squares. Use the reserved syrup to spice up homemade cocktails.

Swiss Chard Pasta

A simple vitamin-packed pasta dish is a lifesaver during the week. And this quick meal is sure to become a regular on your summertime roster because it uses up a bunch of Swiss chard in a way your whole family will adore. (Especially if you use fun pink- or rainbow-stemmed chard.) If you love heat, increase the amount of hot pepper flakes to taste.