Recipe Sifter

Rustic vegetable stew with eggplant, butternut squash, and potato, spiced with turmeric, cumin, and ginger, built on a base of deeply caramelized onions deglazed with red wine.

Hearty Italian lentil sausage soup with marjoram, crushed tomatoes, and the holy trinity of carrot, celery, and onion. Pantry-friendly weeknight comfort, ready in an hour.

Slow-simmered Italian pizza sauce built on canned plum tomatoes, olive oil, oregano, basil and tarragon. A balanced, herb-forward sauce that gets even better after an overnight chill in the fridge.

Jim's buttermilk bread: a sponge-method white loaf with buttermilk tang, honey, and olive oil. Soft tender crumb, two loaves from one recipe, the kind of bread that makes toast worth waking up for.

Johnny Appleseed cake made with whole wheat flour, applesauce, honey, raisins, and walnuts. An egg-free spice cake sweetened naturally without refined sugar.

Kid-friendly curried vegetables with potatoes, carrots, and cauliflower in a mild tomato-spice sauce. A simple Indian-style vegetable curry that teaches real cooking skills.

If you have egg whites left over from other recipes, use them for making kisses. For the holidays you can dress them up by sprinkling some green sugar or red cinnamon hearts on each kiss to make them more festive.

Kiwi health bread packed with sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, and caraway in a half whole wheat dough sweetened with honey and molasses. Makes 3 hearty loaves.

Koulourakia, Greek special occasion cookies made with olive oil, cinnamon, brandy, and sesame seeds. Egg-free, dairy-free, and hand-shaped into traditional forms.

German pumpkin puree with cheese, made by boiling pumpkin with apples and ginger, then browning under the grill with grated cheese. A savory-sweet side dish with warm spice.

Big-batch beef and pork chili con carne with four kinds of beans, plantain (or banana), molasses, and a deep spice blend. An overnight-marinated chili built for slow simmering and serving a crowd.

Lamb bredie, a South African stew with bone-in lamb, cabbage, carrots, green chiles, cinnamon, and cloves simmered low and slow for 75 minutes. No stirring required.

Greek-style lamb with peas braised in tomatoes with dill, parsley, and brown butter. Simmered until the liquid absorbs and only the rich butter sauce remains.

A Mexican mole-inspired chili with cubed lamb, black beans, toasted tortilla and seed thickener, warming spices, and a square of unsweetened chocolate. Deep, complex, nothing like a Texas chili.

Layered apple cake with cinnamon-sugar apple slices tucked between three tiers of orange juice-brightened batter. A dramatic tube pan cake that reveals a stripe of fruit in every slice.

Lehigh County oatmeal cookies with almond extract, rolled oats, and melted butter. A thin, crispy Pennsylvania Dutch heritage cookie that bakes in just 5 minutes.