What could be better than a big slice of carrot cake with layers of gooey cream cheese frosting? How about these Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies with Orange Cream Cheese Filling? All of the greatness of carrot cake in a portable handheld form. More

Slow cooking this tender pot roast with some flavorful vegetables and a few on-hand ingredients yields mouthwatering results. Put it together in the morning, and when it's time for dinner, it's done! More

This soup requires very few novel ingredients. But by roasting your vegetables, the flavors concentrate and caramelize, and you wind up with a pretty standout soup, equally worthy of the dinner table as the brown bag, especially if you supplement it with some good bread and softened, salted butter. More

[Photograph: Robin Bellinger] Shopping List 2 cups dried chickpeas: $1.50 2 onions: $0.50 2 stalks celery: $0.20 1 loose carrot: $0.25 2 lemons: $1.50 Cilantro (pro-rated): $0.50 Baguette: $1.50 Bunch carrots: $2.19 Pantry items: Olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, ground... More

Clockwise from top: Napa Cabbage, Daikon, and Carrots; Cucumber; Daikon and Carrot. I don't know why I chose late July of all times to start a biscuit-baking, cannelés-experimenting week, but I did. The temperature in my non air-conditioned apartment must... More