Today's easy vegetable recipe: Broccoli florets and chopped bok choy braised in coconut milk tinged with Thai curry paste. Low carb. Weight Watchers 2 points. Vegan. Broccoli & bok choy, coconut & curry. Say that three times, then add, distinct and delicious, easy and excellent, fun and flavorful. I could go on with all the letters of the alphabet, but you get the QT, yes? This was one of those spur of the moment creations, just using up leftovers. But honestly, such creations don't always work out so well for me, I'm more about spotting good recipes than creating great recipes myself. But this one just happened and whoa -- call me glad! THAI CURRY PASTE This is an amazing product. It comes in small jars, is inexpensive, takes just a smidge, lasts forever in the fridge and packs a real wollop of flavor. It's worth seeking out. SIDE DISH? Sure, this makes for a great side dish. But the coconut milk is worth sopping up, so the broccoli-bok choy combination has g

Today's salad recipe: A quick salad made with raw bok choy, tossed in a strong-flavored dressing of soy sauce, garlic, ginger, honey, cayenne and sesame seeds. Year-Round Kitchen Staple. Easy for a Weeknight Supper. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real . Naturally Gluten Free.

This week's recipe at KitchenParade.com: My recipe for rhubarb upside-down cake , a classic summer dessert recipe with just a touch of anise. Rustic, homey and delicious. If you're a rhubarb lover, oh man, the rhubarb upside-down cake is a must-make right now, while the rhubarb's still so good. The column will also catch the eye of gardeners. Who else is battling bunnies? NEVER MISS A KITCHEN PARADE RECIPE! Kitchen Parade is my food column, the one my mom started when I was a baby and that I started writing after she died - you know, a la Ann Landers and Heloise. The columns are published in my hometown newspapers and online at KitchenParade.com . Where A Veggie Venture is all about vegetable recipes, Kitchen Parade recipes cover all courses -- the Quick Supper recipes are real favorites. But good news: just like here at A Veggie Venture, all Kitchen Parade recipes include nutrition analysis and Weight Watchers points. There's even a special page of Weight Watche

Today's recipe: The recipe for a classic Cobb salad made from the traditional Cobb salad ingredients: chicken, bacon, tomato, avocado, hard-cooked egg and blue cheese. Quick to assemble and impressive-looking. Low carb. Weight Watchers 7 points. A Cobb salad just 'looks' so good, yes? And I was much pleased that a homemade (and much lighter) Cobb salad could taste so good, too. Like many main dish salads, Cobb salad is an exercise in planning since it calls for cooked chicken, cooked bacon ( Note to Vegetarians ) plus hard-cooked eggs and a gorgeous buttermilk garlic dressing . THAT said, however, if the ingredients are already cooked, it assembles in minutes. And if they're not cooked, it took less time than I'd have thought to put the whole thing together start-to-finish -- about 30 minutes -- an effort yes, but definitely worth doing. It's also a lesson in portion size management. Since a Cobb salad includes four proteins -- chicken, bacon, egg and cheese --

My Substitute for Store-Bought Ranch Dressing For anyone who likes ranch dressing, this is my homemade substitute. It's an easy DIY salad dressing made from scratch in a blender or food processor with on-hand pantry ingredients. It's light and creamy, it's zesty and naturally fresh. No wonder other cooks love it too! And oh, people, this dressing just makes salads sing! If you make it slightly thicker for a dip or sauce for raw veggies, you might just keep dipping and dipping! Real Food, Fast & Casual. Year-Round Kitchen Staple. Little Effort, Big Taste. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Easy Meal Prep. Low Carb. Low Fat. Weight Watchers Friendly. Vegetarian. Naturally Gluten Free. Rave Reviews.

Today's soup recipe: Simple soup made from leftover lettuce that's no longer fresh enough for a salad (or even lettuce that's been dressed for salad the night before and is too soggy to enjoy as a salad again) and new potatoes. Surprisingly tasty! Weight Watchers 2 or 3 points. "Supper contrived from air" is what comes to mind with this soup recipe. Seriously, I used nothing more than less-than-perfect romaine and bok choy and some completely wilted radish leaves. And still? Delicious – a great recipe to have in your back pocket when looking for ways to use up leftover lettuce, especially lettuce too sad for a salad. This soup really hit the right note on a wet, chilly spring day. NUTRITION NOTE The recipe yields four cups of soup, for which I'd normally allow just a tablespoon of fat. But I was intrigued by the inspiring recipe's technique of stirring in a last tablespoon of butter at the end, flavoring the water-based broth. Next time, I'd skip th

Today's recipe at KitchenParade.com: My recipe for sauerkraut salad , a great summer salad, perfect for potlucks and barbecues and good old-fashioned summer eating. It's a 'fresh classic', lighter and more healthful. This week's column introduces us to a convenience food that's too-often overlooked: sauerkraut. What is sauerkraut? Nothing more than cabbage (so it's chopped) that's been fermented (so it's already got flavor) with virtually no calories (so it's healthful). NEVER MISS A KITCHEN PARADE RECIPE! Who's been missing Kitchen Parade recipes? You know, like that recipe for Lime Chicken so perfect for a weeknight supper? Or light, bright and quick Lemon Asparagus Pasta that so celebrates the best spring asparagus? Or the recipe for strawberry rhubarb cobbler that has people moaning? If you were accustomed to learning about new Kitchen Parade recipes via announcements here on A Veggie Venture, well, those announcements are a thi