When the ad writers prevail upon us to take a 'bite out of life', maybe they really mean to make a watercress sandwich? Watercress greens are just so fresh, so full of pepper -- and just taste alive. And a whole cup's worth has virtually no calories, no carbs (setting aside today's sandwich bread) and is full of those life-breathing antioxidants. All that said, what MADE this sandwich is the chili lime butter. It added real panache to the sandwich. Over the next few days, I suspect, it'll do the same with otherwise simple steamed broccoli and green beans and ... and ... And because the butter is spiked with flavor, only a very little is needed. 2008 Update: This sandwich is a winner! WATERCRESS SANDWICHES with CHILI LIME BUTTER Hands-on time: 10 minutes for the butter, estimated 10 minutes for four sandwiches Time to table: 20 minutes Serves 4 or more CHILI LIME BUTTER 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature 1/2 a large jalapeño, minced fine Zest and juice f

After a few nights reprising the amazing watercress and blue cheese salad from Day 276 , I was ready for a change. It'd been a long while since I'd had iceberg lettuce -- the only lettuce 'known to man' until well into my 20s -- and I was looking forward to revisiting something homey and familiar. But as it turns out, at least to my nowadays taste, iceberg lettuce deserves its flavorless reputation. Tossed with watercress, the lettuce served only as filler and in fact watered down and washed out the watercress' trademark pepperbite. And the big shock was how much dressing it took! Day 276's salad was barely dressed and yet spikey with flavor. Tonight's salad was drowning in dressing before any flavor came out. FROM THE ARCHIVES For more green salads, see here in the Recipe Box . WATERCRESS, ICEBERG SALAD with BLUE CHEESE DRESSING Bookmark or print this recipe only Hands-on time: 7 minutes for the dressing, 5 minutes for the salad Time to table: 15 mi

[Oh so many thanks to the hillybilly photographer over at Blue Ridge blog for the inspiring Harley, who even, it's reported, loves lima beans and cooked spinach!] So what's a cook to do? The 2006 Food Challenge is the latest hip'n'happenin' thing, introduced by Lucullian Delights and perpetuated, thank you very much, by Seriously Good . It asks ... oh goodness ... that we further challenge our kitchen and culinary prowess. (Heavens, I'd just like to see my way through Day 365!) Still, what's a life-long learner to do? So let's take a cue from Harley and make a game of it all. Kitchen Parade's three-balls-at-once goals for 2006 are ... SIT, everyone, SIT. Playing with Knives ... take a knife-skills class to get over a bad case of I-don't-need-all-that-fancy-stuff, ignorance-driven superiority about knives Playing with Peppers ... hot ones, that is Playing with Fire ... figure out how to first turn on and then really use the new gr

Ah, this soup struck the perfect note on a wintry Saturday afternoon. If it looks like something you'd make right after Thanksgiving, no surprise: November's broth-making and turkey-picking payoff was turkey broth and cooked turkey from the freezer and a wonderful soup that made up in just minutes. The watercress added a bright note but spinach would suffice for the trademark 'pepper' of watercress was somehow lost in the rich broth and cheesy-salty tortellini. NEXT TIME The tortellini definitely moved the soup from good to great. But it didn't take many: I allowed just five per bowl, which kept the soup in healthful low-cal and even low-carb territory. LOW-CARB EATERS I suspect that this is a good way to limit carbs and still satisfy a pasta craving -- that is limiting the intake rather than eliminating a food entirely. With just five tortellini in the soup (as in the picture), net carbs are just 10 grams. FROM THE ARCHIVES Do you still have Thanksgiving bounty in

Ooooops. If that looks like a whole lotta roughage, you're right. This quick-sauteed watercress wasn't inedible taste-wise but it was unchewable tooth-wise, unless perchance you're a cow. NEXT TIME Read and heed the instructions: "two bunches watercress, coarse stems discarded". Because watercress is so healthful and this bit cooked in literally two minutes, "I'll be back." Stems discarded. FROM THE ARCHIVES For other quick-quick vegetable recipes, see here in the Recipe Box . SAUTEED WATERCRESS Bookmark or print this recipe only Hands-on time: 2 minutes Time to table: 3 minutes Serves 1 1 teaspoon olive oil Watercress, coarse stems removed, washed in running water, shaken but not spin- or towel-dried 1 tablespoon garlic (from a jar) or 1 clove minced garlic Squeeze of lime juice Salt to taste Heat the oil in a skillet til shimmery. Add the watercress (NO COARSE STEMS!) and cook for 1 minute. Add the garlic and lime juice and c

It's the middle of winter in the northern hemisphere. Today it's even snowing here along the Mississippi River flyway, sure to further invigorate the bald eagles that fish the river. And the obvious answer to "What's for lunch?" and "What's for supper?" -- for humans, anyway -- seems to be soup. The pair of quick soups featured in this week's Kitchen Parade column , one broccoli and one cauliflower, are low-fat, low-carb and deliciously simple and well, simply delicious.

Winter salads are so wonderful! This salad is a simple combination of watercress (or arugula or another salad green) with tangerine and blue cheese crumbles, way more than a sum of its parts. The dressing has citrus flavor too, boosted by a spoonful of orange juice concentrate, one of my favorite ingredients. Seasonal. Easy Weeknight Supper. Low Carb. Low Fat. Weight Watchers Friendly & Freestyle Friendly. Vegetarian. Naturally Gluten Free. This salad is so simple and sooo good. Call it "my favorite new salad". It had me dreaming! It had me planning a 6am grocery run! Better yet: I just talked to the produce manager by phone. The beautiful bags of watercress he found in the back for me yesterday for $2 a bag are expired now so he's going give me whatever I want for a buck! We'll be wallowing in watercress for a few days! Any ideas? What would you do? And can I preserve it somehow? The magic is in the combination of the peppery watercress with the tang of tan