Fruit recipe collection

If you run out of preserved lemons, or decide on just a few day's notice to cook a chicken, lamb, or fish dish with lemons and olives and need preserved lemons in a hurry, you can use this quick five-day method taught to me by a Moroccan diplomat's wife. Lemons preserved this way will not keep, but are perfectly acceptable in an emergency.

A silky baked banana custard set over a layer of homemade caramel, similar to a banana flan. Made with evaporated milk, eggs, and fresh nutmeg, then chilled overnight and inverted to serve.

Banana honey frozen yogurt with just 4 ingredients: ripe bananas, plain yogurt, honey, and lemon juice. Naturally sweetened, no refined sugar, made with or without an ice cream maker.

Lighter banana walnut cake made with egg whites instead of whole eggs, studded with walnuts and raisins. A cinnamon-spiced sheet cake baked in a 9x13 pan.

Bright fruit salad with jicama matchsticks, grapes, pineapple, nectarine, strawberries, and cantaloupe tossed in orange juice with fresh basil. A crunchy, refreshing no-cook side that's ready in 20 minutes.

Beef stew braised in red wine with a tart twist: fresh cranberries pulsed with brown sugar and flour stir in at the end for a sweet-tangy sauce. Make it ahead and it only gets better.

Tuna apple salad mixes flaked tuna with crisp red apple chunks, celery, lettuce, and a creamy Thousand Island dressing. A sweet-savory lunch ready in 15 minutes.

Whole wheat batter bakes up around juicy peaches and plump blueberries in this cast-iron skillet cobbler with golden edges and fruit bubbling through tender cake.

A from-scratch blueberry lemon cobbler with a flaky buttermilk biscuit crust brushed golden and sprinkled with sugar. Lemon zest and warm spices make 3 pints of berries sing.

Bomma's heirloom date nut cookies made with beaten egg whites, chopped dates, and pecans. No butter needed! Light, chewy, and naturally sweet. Makes 60 cookies.

A simple fruit-filled cake with a gummy, tender crumb and a cinnamon-sugar crust on top. Use any jar of pie filling you like: cherry, blueberry, apple, or peach. Just 7 ingredients and 15 minutes of prep.

German-style cabbage fruit salad with shredded cabbage, diced apple, raisins, and a creamy pineapple-lemon sour cream dressing. No cooking, ready in 10 minutes.

Chewy hermit bars with molasses, brown sugar, raisins, and warm spices baked in a single pan and dusted with powdered sugar. A classic New England spiced cookie bar that makes 32 pieces.

Chicken thighs poached with cumin and oregano, rubbed with spice paste, then pan-fried until crisp. Served in a tangy onion broth with banana peppers and apple cider vinegar.

Crispy baked chicken legs served with homemade mango ginger chutney and toasted coconut carrot rice. A tropical-meets-comfort dinner with bold, layered spices.

Christmas carrot pudding steams grated carrots and potatoes with breadcrumbs, raisins, suet and warm spices into a moist British holiday pudding served with brown sugar sauce.