black bean salad

• 4 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 yellow pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 orange pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
• fresh cilantro, chopped fine
• juice of half a lime
• good quality olive oil
• good quality balsamic vinegar

Place beans, peppers, tomatoes and cilantro in large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together lime juice with close to equal parts of oil and vinegar, about a quarter cup total. Use very good quality of each, you know, those bottles you got on close out (vinegar is a preserving agent, it's not going to go bad). I had some scallion oil that I used as part of the oil and it added nicely, but regular olive oil works fine. Stir whisked dressing into beans and toss to coat. Serve cold.

The dish: Beans are popular in almost every culture on the globe, and with good reason, they're plentiful and healthy, packed with protein and fiber with no fat and very few calories. Beans are a powerful weapon against high cholesterol, diabetes, diverticulitis, constipation, even cancer and a host of other health maladies. If you tend to avoid them because of their most notorious side effect, begin eating a small amount of them on a frequent basis, maybe a bite three times a day. This will help your body produce a beneficial bacteria (which is all that Beano is) that will help in dealing with the complex sugars (complex is the key- your body will burn them for energy but not store them as fat) that cause gas. Draining and rinsing is also key here; what you're doing is washing away extra sugars that cause discomfort, as well as the lions share of the sodium.

smashed carrots

• 3-5 pounds carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2-4 tablespoons butter

Boil carrots in unsalted water until tender, about 15 minutes, drain and transfer to large bowl. Smash carrots using potato masher until creamy with few small lumps remaining. Stir in butter to taste. Season with Kosher salt, also to taste.

The dish: I lifted the idea of serving carrots this way from a local Irish restaurant. I was amazed at how easy it is to prepare and how perfect they are alongside of a traditional corned beef dinner. At first glance it may seem like an unhealthy way to enjoy carrots, but it's actually much better for you than the popular glazed method as it uses less butter and no sugar. Go easy on the salt, it's really not too crucial here.

Guinness corned beef

• 2 corned beef rounds
• 4 cans of Guinness
• bay leaves
• mustard seeds
• whole peppercorns
• caraway seeds
• dried mustard

Pour one can of beer into Crock Pot and add a couple of shakes of dried mustard and stir. Add another can of beer and add the bay leaves, peppercorns, mustard and caraway seeds, stirring to combine. Place corned beef and whatever seasoning it came with in Crock Pot and cover with remaining beer, making sure to stir mixture and cover beef. Cook on low for 8+ hours. Scrape any seeds off meat before serving.

The dish: Everyone has a secret about their heritage and here's mine: I'm Irish and I can't stand Guinness. I constantly hear its praises sung, but to me it tastes like malted 10w-40. The meat certainly doesn't wind up tasting like a pint of the thick stuff, but rather has a full flavor that reminds me of the way corned beef is supposed to taste. The other key is to add plenty of seasonings, that anemic little pouch of seeds that comes with corned beef is no where near enough to really impart flavor. For the Puritans reading this, any alcohol in the beer gets cooked off which makes this dish family friendly and perfect for leftover sandwiches, just make sure to pack a flask with your lunch as the Guinness has lost all its potency.

roasted cabbage with bacon

• 1 head of cabbage, cut into bite size pieces
• 4 strips of high quality bacon, finely diced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (sorry Mike and wizzz, when I pasted in from word it showed as "4000"). Place chopped bacon in bottom of large casserole dish, I like either ceramic or cast iron, cook in oven for 5-10 minutes. Add cabbage and toss with the bacon, spreading around all that bacon goodness, return to oven and cook for about 30 minutes or until cabbage appears well cooked. Season with Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

The dish: Everything really is better with bacon, and cabbage is certainly no exception to the rule. Roasting the cabbage gives it almost a sweet flavor without turning into the normal soggy mess that most people think it's supposed to be. If the bacon is a little lean and things look a little dry you can always add a little olive oil, but this batch didn't need it. Don't wait for next March, cabbage is cheap and great for you and this is a variation that even people who don't like cabbage seem to enjoy.

Champagne crab cake sandwich

• 1 can lump crab meat (I used chicken of the sea)
• 1 pouch fresh crab meat (it will be refrigerated)
• 2 packages imitation crab meat, chopped finely
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 2/3 cup of bread crumbs
• Dijon mustard
• 2 large eggs
• mayonnaise
• fresh parsley, chopped fine
• old bay seasoning
• 2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar (or any white wine vinegar)

In a skillet over medium heat brown the onion for 3-5 minutes in a little olive oil or until just opaque. Combine all the crab (making sure the imitation is chopped finely), onion, bread crumbs, a tablespoon of mustard, eggs, old bay and vinegar in a large bowl. Mix together and form into sandwich sized patties. Using same skillet as onion, cook each crab cake over a high flame in a little bit of oil until just browned. Transfer cakes onto lightly greased cookie sheet and bake uncovered for 20 minutes at 350. Stir together equal parts mayonnaise and mustard and add parsley. Serve crab cakes on nice rolls with shredded lettuce and sauce.

The dish: Imitation crab stick, as the name implies, is not crab at all. I refer to it as "bologna of the sea", but that's not really accurate either. Beef bologna is made from the parts of a cow that you can't sell in any other way. The crab stick has no crab at all in it (even the undesirable parts) and instead is ground up Alaska Pollock, a plentiful, flavorless whitefish that's in crazy abundance up in northern Alaska and Japan. It's not at all bad for you and can really work well in a dish if done right. I use it in the crab cakes because it's as cheap as the breadcrumbs and gives a great texture and flavor without being too fishy. The Champagne vinegar was a bottle I got on sale at Marshall's and have just been looking for ways to use it, but any white wine vinegar would work well. This recipe made 8 BIG crab cakes, so unless you need a lot you might want to cut back, but like meatloaf, this recipe is very forgiving about not using exact amounts of ingredients.

Beyonce fries

• 4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into fry shapes
• cayenne pepper
• Kosher salt
• olive oil
• 1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
• 3 tablespoons high quality maple syrup

Toss fries with salt, pepper and olive oil. Spread out evenly on a large baking sheet and cook in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until desired doneness. Stir syrup into sour cream and mix thoroughly. Dip fries into sauce and enjoy (was this sentence really necessary).

The dish: I work two days a month in an office that has a plethora of People magazines. If I'm there and I get a lull I often thumb through one and catch up on what's happening with the stars. One of them reported that Beyonce was trying some new diet that didn't involve much other than eating cayenne pepper and maple syrup, something about the different tastes satisfying cravings. I think it's a great example for all of her young girl fans that she should be so concerned about her body image and turn food (something that on patches of this planet is still in short supply) into the enemy. Hopefully Ms. Knowles realizes that eating is not the issue, but rather what and how much you eat. Sweet potatoes are loaded with vitamins A, B6 and C, as well as fiber and a host of antioxidants, and when you "fry" them in the oven in olive oil you cut out the really bad sat fats. I never really cared about the differences of maple syrup before I married a girl from Canada (pretty much) and she got me hooked on the good stuff, adjust it to your taste here. If you want perfect cut fries go to Bed Bath and Beyond and spend $12 on a fry cutter, otherwise any shape works.

vegetable beef soup

• 3 cans tomato soup
• 1 box good quality beef stock
• 1.5 pounds stew beef, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 large bag of frozen mixed vegetables (or two small ones)
• fresh or dried green herbs

Place all ingredients in crock pot, season with salt and pepper, cook on low for 8+ hours. If using fresh herbs, wait until the last hour to add them. I used a little dried basil and fresh parsley.

The dish: Congratulations, you just made the easiest dinner that you'll love and everyone will swear you put in much more effort than simply combining ingredients. There's really no need to brown the meat ahead of time on this one as it picks up some nice flavors and comes out really tender. This soup is my version of the great vegetable beef available at Denny's. It took a few batches to perfect, but close to equal amounts of beef stock and tomato soup is the key here.