Recipe Sifter

Asian-inspired plum salad dressing made with plum baby food, soy sauce, five spice powder, and garlic. A fat-free, no-cook dressing ready in minutes.

Decorating and preserving directions for Ha'Penny Friendship Bread: slit the top crust, tuck in a copper penny, tie with ribbon and wheat, then seal the loaf with glossy polyurethane for a keepsake that lasts.

Southern pimiento cheese sandwiches with sharp New York cheddar, mashed pimientos, cayenne, and Worcestershire. Hand-grated cheese makes all the difference in this classic spread.

Yeasty sourdough starter is the shortcut version: unbleached flour, a packet of dry yeast, and water mixed into a thick batter and left warm for a day. A fast track to bread baking when you don't want to wait two weeks for a wild starter.

Fresh fruit ice is a light, low-fat frozen dessert made with orange juice, lemon, mashed banana, and strawberries or peaches. Gelatin and a rebeat give it a creamy, scoopable texture without a churn ice cream maker.

Spinach pasta with red peppers tosses wide spinach noodles in a garlic-heavy sauce of sauteed capers, basil, rosemary, and sweet red peppers. Light, vibrant, and oil-free.

A cost-effective veggie only hash that uses up basic pantry vegetables. Develops a nice crusty brown surface as it cooks.

Grapefruit mint sorbet: a bright, bitter-sweet frozen dessert infused with fresh mint syrup and pure grapefruit juice. A naturally dairy-free palate cleanser.

Kay's apple pie is a classic double-crust pie with pared apples tossed in sugar and cinnamon, dotted with butter and finished with a milk-brushed, sugar-dusted top crust.

Yogurt-marinated cumin chicken with turmeric, coriander, and green chile. Indian-style baked chicken that turns weeknight bird into something fragrant and tender. Serve over rice.

Green bean and garlic soup with ten cloves of garlic, fresh thyme, and a beaten egg ribbon for body. A simple Mediterranean-style soup that comes together in 30 minutes.

An old-fashioned root vegetable stew with salt pork, cabbage, carrots, turnips, parsnips, and potatoes slow-steamed until fork-tender. Farmhouse cooking at its most honest and filling.

Versoffene Jungfern: a German dessert sauce of spiced red wine reduced with cinnamon, clove, and lemon zest, poured hot over fresh dumplings. Simple, warming, and ready in 40 minutes.

Homemade strawberry lemonade with pureed fresh strawberries, lemon juice, and a splash of club soda for fizz. Bright pink, naturally fruity, and refreshing over ice.

Three bean vinaigrette salad with rice, kidney beans, and marinated artichoke hearts. A no-cook vegetarian salad served chilled over lettuce leaves.

Very simple cookies sweetened with natural coconut sugar. Made with pumpkin seeds, which are very rich in magnesium (one of the most important minerals responsible for key physiological functions including the production of energy (ATP) in the body, correct heart function and proper bone and tooth formation). Cinnamon is well known for its ability to lower blood sugar levels, and is highly recommended for diabetics.