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Fifteen minutes before mealtime, place the pan with the peppers over medium heat and cook for 2 minutes, or until the peppers begin to warm up. Add the coconut milk, lime juice, and curry powder and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the sauce just begins to bubble. Add the rice noodles and stir until thoroughly coated. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the noodles are warm.

Spoon the noodles onto plates, making sure there are some pieces of pepper and carrot on top. Sprinkle with the cilantro and serve immediately.

Cooking 101:

Coconut milk is made by soaking and squeezing grated coconut meat. It is much thicker and richer than coconut water (coconut juice), which is found inside the hollow of the coconut. Whatever you do, buy regular (full fat) coconut milk. This is one of those cases where the low-fat version is not worth using.

Butternut Squash Risotto

We use vegetable bouillon cubes to add to the flavor in a lot of our recipes, and they really make all the difference here, adding body and depth to this risotto. Don’t get too concerned about size when you are cutting up the butternut squash. If you have different-sized pieces the smaller ones will soften as they cook and mix in, enhancing the creaminess, and the larger pieces will retain their shape, giving the risotto more texture. –M

Serves 2

1 small butternut squash (about 1 pound)

½ small onion

2 tablespoons butter

½ cup Arborio rice

1 vegetable bouillon cube

2½ cups hot water

Salt and pepper

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Up to 2 hours before mealtime, cut the butternut squash into chunks and remove and discard the peel and seeds. Cut into ¼- to ½-inch chunks. Peel the onion and cut into ½-inch pieces.

Place the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Add the squash and Arborio rice and stir well. Place the bouillon cube in the water and smash it with a fork to break it up a little, then pour ¼ cup of the water into the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until all the liquid has been absorbed. Continue adding the water, ¼ cup at a time, until you’ve used 1¾ cups of the water. It will take about 30 minutes to get to this point. Remove from the heat, cover, and let stand.

Twenty minutes before mealtime, stir ½ cup of the water into the risotto and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the water is completely absorbed. Repeat the process with the remaining ¼ cup of water.

Season with salt and pepper, spoon the risotto onto plates, sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese, and serve immediately.

Cooking 101:

Risotto is usually made with Arborio rice because it has a very high starch content (Carnaroli and Vialone Nano are the other good risotto rices). The starch gets released as you gradually stir in hot liquid, resulting in a creamy texture that you just can’t get with regular white rice.

Fettuccine with Mushroom Bolognese Sauce

This is a very safe (and, of course, tasty) pasta dish guaranteed to please those less adventurous eaters. It is also good for you less-experienced cooks. It really is simple to make and almost impossible to ruin. –J

Serves 2

8 ounces fettuccine

½ onion

1 carrot

4 ounces mushrooms

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

½ teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Up to 5 hours before mealtime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the fettuccine. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 12 minutes, or until al dente. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water. Place in a resealable bag and refrigerate until ready to use.

Peel the onion and cut into ½-inch pieces. Peel the carrot, cut in half lengthwise, and slice ¼ inch thick. Remove and discard the mushroom stems and thinly slice. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.