Sally Pasley Vargas

1 week ago | bostonglobe.com | Sally Pasley Vargas

Cook chicken thighs on the stovetop in a cast-iron pan to give them a pleasant char, and you don't need to light the grill. Tuck them inside ciabatta or another crusty roll and they're festive enough for a picnic or an indoor celebration. First marinate the thighs in yogurt or sour cream (the lactic acid tenderizes the meat) with chopped chipotle chiles. Chipotles are canned smoked jalapenos that come packed in a spicy adobo sauce.

2 weeks ago | bostonglobe.com | Sally Pasley Vargas

This old-fashioned pudding cake begins in a skillet with rhubarb compote, then a layer of cream and eggs lightened with fluffy whites goes into the pan. When it bakes, the batter creates its own sauce with a thin layer of sponge cake on top. It's a comfy dessert with a punch of orange-scented rhubarb in the base. Spoon it onto plates so each serving has some tangy red fruit, sauce, and cake-y topping.

3 weeks ago | bostonglobe.com | Sally Pasley Vargas

The color and taste of spring are more than welcome right now. This soup is so green it's almost startling. The bright color comes from spinach, peas, and asparagus. Start by making a quick stock from the woody ends of the asparagus. Saute leeks in olive oil, add potatoes, and the stock, and simmer until tender. Then the colorful green trio goes into the pot, and it all winds up in a blender to turn it into a smooth, creamy soup without any cream.

1 month ago | bostonglobe.com | Sally Pasley Vargas

Dutch baby, a large, puffy, baked eggy pancake, is perfect for a Mother's Day brunch. As the story of its origin goes (true or not, food legends persist), in Seattle in the early 20th century, Manca's Cafe served German pancakes. The owner's daughter could not pronounce the word ''Deutsch'' (which means German), so the specialty became Dutch Baby. It's a nice story, but the big pancake goes by another name in Germany, writes Karen Lodder on the blog German Girl in America.

1 month ago | bostonglobe.com | Sally Pasley Vargas

A taco bar at home is fun and festive. All the filling components can be made ahead, placed in small serving bowls, and refrigerated. Start by roasting salmon slathered with an easy chile paste, then run it under the broiler to crisp and brown the top. Make a colorful salad of kale, cabbage, carrots, cilantro, and jalapeno. Mexican crema is like thinned sour cream, and this green version, flavored with cilantro and jalapenos, takes these tacos up a notch.