Recipe Sifter

Brown lentils and long grain rice simmered with ghee, cinnamon, turmeric, and fresh green chili. A warming one-pot side dish ready in 45 minutes.

This isn't cream of garlic soup, but it has a creamy texture. As Julia says, "Because the garlic is boiled, its after-effects are at a minimum, and its flavor becomes exquisite, aromatic and almost undefinable."

Apricot bread made with a full pound of dried apricots cooked in warm spices. Cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg give these two loaves a fragrant, fruit-studded crumb.

Aunt May's pickled green tomatoes is a heritage four-day sweet pickle recipe that turns 15 pounds of unripe tomatoes into translucent, cinnamon-and-clove spiced jewels in cider vinegar syrup. Old-school canning that fills the pantry.

Slow cooker chicken and kielbasa simmered with navy beans, tomato paste, red wine, and warm spices. A hearty French cassoulet-style stew from frozen chicken with just 5 minutes of prep.

Lighter banana spice cake with whole wheat flour, ripe bananas, buttermilk, and warm cinnamon-nutmeg-clove spice. A lower-fat sheet cake that bakes in 30 minutes and slices into 24 lunchbox-friendly squares.

Gingerbread men cookie dough with dark molasses, brown sugar, and four warm spices. Make the dough one day, refrigerate overnight, and cut and bake the next for crisp, spiced cookies.

Flounder fillets poached in a sweet-sour beer sauce with brown sugar, cloves, and peppercorns. A quick stovetop fish dinner with bold Northern European flavors.

Christmas chocolate cookies with unsweetened chocolate, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and chopped nuts. A flourless-light, brownie-textured holiday drop cookie spiced for the season.

Pumpkin curry with lentils, potatoes, carrots, and diced apples in a warmly spiced turmeric-cumin-clove base. A hearty vegan one-pot dinner with layered autumn sweetness.

Badami Gosht is a rich Indian lamb curry simmered in saffron yogurt and coconut milk, thickened with ground almonds and fragrant with cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves.

Crockpot applesauce cake steamed in canning jars for a tender, spiced cake loaded with walnuts, cinnamon, cloves, and brown sugar. Perfect fall slow-cooker dessert.

Sausage and cubed ham baked with navy beans, white wine, garlic, and a dash of cloves. A shortcut French cassoulet with all the comfort and none of the fuss.

The thickness of the soup is somewhat unpredictable, so stand by with a bit of water or stock to thin it down if necessary.

Fragrant North Indian chicken curry built on toasted cumin, cardamom, and cloves with a rich tomato-onion masala base. This home-style Dhawan family recipe simmers tender chicken breast in warming spices in under 45 minutes.

Old-fashioned brown sugar drop cookies with cinnamon, clove, and orange zest, studded with raisins and chopped nuts. A German-style spice cookie that yields five dozen.