309 cheery recipes

Summer pudding-style fruit cake lined with sponge cake and packed with kirsch-soaked strawberries, blackberries, cherries, and currants. Chilled overnight and unmolded.

Cheese tortellini tossed in homemade spinach-basil pesto with sauteed shrimp, toasted almonds, and blistered cherry tomatoes. A restaurant-quality pasta dinner ready in about an hour.

Angel food cake slices stuffed with chocolate chips, marshmallows, fruit preserves, or coconut, then grilled golden in a sandwich maker. A 15-minute dessert kids go wild for.

If you want a healthy, light and good taste recipe, this one will let you feel satisfied.

This arugula salad is so easy to make, and the fresh veggies give you so refreshing taste; it can be served with any main course.

Cherry tomatoes, basil, fresh mozzarella are always a delicious combination, here by spinning out the juice from cherry tomatoes to make the salad tasty but not watery. You can use this technique in all the tomato salads. And the reduction of the tomato juice adds the tangy flavor to the dressing.

Cold strawberry soup with sweet white wine, lime juice, honey, and frozen cherries blended smooth with cream. A chilled fruit soup served with a dollop of sour cream.

Citrus soup frappe: a chilled, lightly jellied dessert soup of orange, raspberry, and lemon juices laced with red wine, Sauterne, and kirsch. A vintage Continental starter or palate-cleansing finale.

Pork tenderloin medallions with Bing cherry sauce: pan-seared pork simmered in a sweet-tart glaze of currant jelly, raspberry vinegar, orange juice, and tarragon. Topped with fresh cherries. A dinner party showstopper.

Peppered pork roast with sour cherry salsa: coarsely pepper-crusted pork loin roasted simple, served with a sweet-hot relish of cherries, green chiles, peppers, and cilantro. Holiday-worthy and easy.

Three tomato salad with red, yellow pear, and cherry tomatoes plus mushrooms in a balsamic-mustard vinaigrette with fresh basil. A colorful, low-fat summer side.

Roasted cherry tomato compote over milky Parmesan polenta. Caramelized shallots and white wine turn simple tomatoes into something extraordinary. Low-fat, vegetarian, and full of flavor.

Layers of cubed potatoes, zucchini, mozzarella, scallions, and fresh basil bake in egg substitute for this veggie-packed Italian frittata. Broiled tomatoes finish it.

The health benefits of green papaya exceed those of the ripe variety. Raw green papaya is packed with vitamins, enzymes and phytonutrients. It contains vital nutrients including potassium, magnesium, and vitamins A, C, E and B. However, perhaps the most important health property of green papaya is its ability to improve digestion and the uptake of nutrients, raising enzyme levels and improving assimilation, and thus also strengthening the immune system. Green papaya contains two of the most powerful plant proteolytic enzymes: papain and chymopapain. These enzymes excel at breaking down proteins, fats and carbohydrates, as well as aiding healthy digestion. Papain can only be found in the papaya fruit and is more effective than pepsin produced by our own stomachs.

Mixed greens tossed with homemade balsamic vinaigrette made from shallots, fresh basil, and extra-virgin olive oil, then topped with grape tomatoes and yellow bell pepper strips.

Old-fashioned white holiday fudge loaded with brazil nuts, pecans, walnuts, candied cherries, and pineapple. A cooked cream fudge that chills overnight and makes over 100 pieces for holiday gift giving.