Clueless in the Kitchen: Cooking for Beginners

Here are some of the easy, healthful recipes you'll discover:

Authentic Greek Salad

This salad is best in midsummer, when it can be made with perfectly ripe, in-season tomatoes that actually taste like, well, tomatoes. You can easily make a full meal out of it with the addition of some good bread and a little extra cheese. Or you can stuff it into the pocket of a pita bread and have it for lunch on the run.

A Perfect Hamburger

Perfection, hamburger-wise, is in the mouth of the beholder. Some people like to add a lot of stuff to their burger mixture; others like to put lots of stuff on top after cooking. Here’s a basic recipe that you can mess with until you’ve found your own personal burger nirvana.

Minestrone Soup

Old minestrone secret: If you grate your own Parmesan cheese, save the rinds and toss a couple of hunks into the soup as it cooks to add some serious flavor. Fish them out of the pot before serving.

Oven-Roasted Vegetables

Think of this more as a suggestion than an actual recipe. Go ahead and mess with it to use whatever vegetables you happen to have in the house. Substitute chunks of butternut squash for sweet potatoes, or invite some broccoli, cauliflower or carrots to the party. Just make sure you cut everything up into similar-size pieces so they cook evenly.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Yogurt Pancakes

Eat these pancakes and you’ll feel so healthy it’s scary. Loaded with good stuff — they’re a perfect way to start your day.

Maple Glazed Salmon

Seriously — what part of that doesn’t sound amazing? Marinate the fish while you make a salad or cook some potatoes.