Recipe Sifter

No-bake Easter baskets made from shredded wheat, peanut butter, and butterscotch chips. A fun three-ingredient Easter craft kids can shape and fill with candy.

Bread machine cornmeal yeast bread with corn kernels, mild green chilies, and sharp cheddar baked right into the loaf. Tex-Mex flavor in sandwich-bread form.

Fat-free lemon poppy seed biscotti made with no added oil or butter. Crisp twice-baked Italian cookies powered by ground almonds, egg whites, and bright citrus.

Curry-spiced pea fritters dropped from a spoon into hot oil. Crisp outside, soft and green-flecked inside. A fast fried side dish or handheld appetizer.

Pennsylvania Dutch funny cake baked in a pie shell with chocolate sauce on the bottom and vanilla cake on top. Two layers swap places in the oven like magic.

This recipe comes from Sheilah Kaufman's book: "Simply Irresistible: Easy, Elegant, Fearless, Fussless Cooking."

German filbert cookies shape buttery hazelnut dough into delicate crescents and dust them in powdered sugar or dip in chocolate. Holiday cookie classic with deep nutty flavor.

Giardiniera, the classic Italian pickled vegetable jar packed with carrots, celery, bell peppers, cauliflower, and pearl onions in a sweet-spiced vinegar brine. Sandwich topper, antipasto staple, condiment for everything.

No-yeast graham bread made with graham flour, whole wheat flour, and buttermilk. A quick, dense loaf with nutty whole grain flavor and a tender crumb.

Grilled tempeh with red onion and eggplant on toasted whole wheat bread, marinated in red wine, rosemary, garlic, and fennel. A smoky, vegetarian open-faced grill plate with Italian roots.

Very easy to make your oatmeal flour that is used in many recipes.

Homemade banana layer cake with mashed ripe banana and buttermilk for a moist, tender crumb. A classic two-layer cake ready to frost with your favorite icing.

Good, inexpensive hearty meal although I would spice it up a little more probably with garlic and more onion.

Italian barley soup slow-simmered for 3 hours with red wine, tomatoes, garlic, fresh herbs, and Parmesan. A thick, hearty vegetarian soup with deep, layered flavor from the long cook.

Lion's Head pork meatballs: oversized Shanghai-style pork meatballs with water chestnuts nestled over braised Napa cabbage. Classic Chinese Jiangsu dish where the meatballs resemble a lion's mane atop a bed of greens.

Maple macadamia quick bread with whole wheat flour, buttermilk, and a warm maple-cinnamon glaze. Rich, nutty, and sweetened entirely with real maple syrup.