Comfort Pasta: Conchiglie With Potatoes, "Meatballs" and Spinach

Quick, think of a dish more comforting than a big plate of pasta with chunky meatballs, golden potatoes and crunchy, verdant spinach, all of it shot through with the husky scent of rosemary.

You couldn't, could you, because your brain was busy working up a craving for all that goodness I conjured up for you. Well, don't worry, because I've got the recipe right here right now.

But first, here's some news. I start a new job next week and I am terribly excited. Not just because the new job is terrific, but also because my new office is smack-dab in downtown DC so I can finally give up my car for the Metro, freeing up my eyes for something more fun that traffic lights. Books.

Low-Fat Cucumber Cake, Indian-Style

It's sweltering here in the northeast, and in most of the country. But a steady crop of cucumbers from the vines I planted in my backyard garden this spring are helping us keep our cool.

I've been slicing them into pitchers of water, chopping them up into salads and raitas, and just eating them fresh off the vine, with a dash of salt rubbed into their centers.

If you've ever grown cucumbers, you know that they can produce too much of a good thing. This past weekend, as I wondered what else to do with all those cucumbers, I was visited by a blast from the past. Tausali, or cucumber cake.

In the India I grew up in, ovens were a rarity. Cakes were a rare treat you bought at the bakery. But what some adventurous cooks did have was an aluminum contraption that looked like a tube pan with a lid. In the bottom was a compartment that held sand. The "oven" was placed on a stove and the flame heated the sand which in turn baked the cake.

Chilli Tofu

I love it when I can find irony in the most unlikely places-- like my Chilli Tofu.

Chilli Tofu is based off an Indo-Chinese recipe called Chilli Paneer. This is a spicy, saucy blend of Indian spices and Chinese condiments, and the star, of course, is the paneer, an Indian cottage cheese that's usually sold in blocks, just like tofu.

Paneer is a bland cheese that soaks up the flavors of the curries and gravies it is added to, as does tofu. They even have similar textures but the tofu, of course, is far healthier. I've posted other recipes before that use tofu instead of paneer, like my Palak "Paneer" and Tofu Makhani.

Now here's the fun part. While substitutions usually have the effect of taking a dish away from its roots, this time, as I swapped the tofu for the paneer for my Chilli Tofu recipe, I realized that the modification makes this dish even more Chinese. Get it?

Garlic And Herb Sandwich Buns, And An Update on Lucy

Hey, there! How have things been in your world these past two months?

You may have wondered what was going on in mine after I dropped off the face of the planet, unannounced. But I was around, very much so, and missing you too. Life just got in the way and to make a long story short, I didn't have much time to come up with fabulous new eats in the kitchen good enough to share with you.

So finally, here's something fabulous: my whole-wheat sandwich buns.

I wanted to come back with a bread recipe because I know those are the ones many of you love. Besides, I love the idea of baking, and inspiring others to bake. So what if it's summer? You don't have to sit next to the oven while the bread bakes, and what are exhaust fans for? And trust me, once you've eaten these buns wrapped around grilled veggie burgers and some grilled veggies, you will be more than happy you made them.

Before I delve into the recipe, I wanted to give you an update on the health adventures of Lucy, my big old German Shepherd mix who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma over two years ago.