While my previous two recipe posts indicate otherwise (here and here), there’s actually a lot more to my diet than just steel cut oatmeal. In fact, in an effort to cook more from cookbooks, I try to make at least 2 or 3 new recipes a week. So today I’m sharing a few of my favorites. Some are new discoveries, some are old standbys, but all are absolutely spectacular!

Curried Lentil Soup from Mollie Wizenberg // The Bon Appetit article that accompanied this recipe was required reading for my Food Writing Class, and I have made this recipe MANY times since then. Chickpea puree lends a delightful heartiness to this Eastern Mediterranean inspired soup, making it quite possibly my favorite lentil recipe to date (and that’s saying something)! As you can tell from the multiple Instagrams, warm whole grain toast is the ultimate companion to this meal.

Honey Roasted Carrots with Tahini Yogurt from Yotam Ottolenghi // There are so many delicious recipes in Plenty More, that I am almost embarrassed to admit that a humble side dish is my favorite. But it’s too good. Thanks to this recipe, I scarfed down 12 large carrots in only two sittings, and then polished off the tupperware of the remaining tahini yogurt dip. Unfortunately for my pale winter skin, I didn’t turn orange. Guess I’ll have to make some more!

Salmon Cakes with Lemon-Caper Yogurt Sauce from Giada de Laurentiis // True story: this recipe singlehandedly got me over my aversion to canned fish. (Giada calls for canned salmon in the cookbook version of this recipe.) Ashley copied down the recipe as soon as we finished eating, which I’m pretty sure is a good sign that dinner was a hit. I made a few substitutions (Kashi Original 7 Grain Crackers instead of Saltines, nonfat plain Greek yogurt instead of mayo) but the final result was completely delicious!

100% Whole Grain Bread from Ashley Higgs // Okay, this recipe isn’t actually new to you. I blogged about it almost exactly a year ago. But in recent weeks I have been on a bread baking kick, and this is the recipe that I use every single time. If you haven’t had a chance to make it yet, consider this a friendly nudge!

What are some of your favorite no-fail recipes?

– Kelly