Recipe Sifter

Favourite morning coffee cake: a buttermilk-rich, brown sugar batter topped with cinnamon-walnut crumble and baked in a single pan. The kind of breakfast cake that vanishes by lunch.

Rich chocolate cake with cocoa, buttermilk, and a hot-water finish for an extra-moist crumb. The classic one-bowl chocolate sheet cake that bakes up dense, dark, and tender every time.

A wonderful winter recipe, this recipe can be made vegan or with meat. Either way, it’s packed with healthy fiber and low fat protein. High fiber meals help to lower cholesterol and blood pressure, as well as protect us from various types of cancers.

Vegan Greek spanakopita rolls from the Peloponnese, with spinach, leeks, scallions, parsley, and nutmeg wrapped in crisp phyllo. No cheese, no eggs, no butter.

Washington apple cake packed with three cups of fresh chopped apples and crunchy walnuts, warm with cinnamon and nutmeg. An oil-rich, ultra-moist tube cake served with a cloud of sweetened whipped cream.

A feather-light cheesecake lightened with whipped egg whites for an airy texture, on a cinnamon zwieback crust, finished with a sour cream, crumb, and almond topping. Far lighter than dense New York style.

Raw fennel, mushroom, and shaved Parmesan salad with a garlic-lemon vinaigrette and crushed fennel seeds. Mushrooms marinate for an hour, then get layered with paper-thin fennel and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Festive peppermint pie with layers of mint-spiked fruit and whipped cream, fudgy chocolate marshmallow sauce, and a toasted meringue top with crushed candy cane.

Fiery salsa: fresh pico de gallo with ten jalapenos, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, lime, and lemon. Made ahead and chilled overnight for the bold heat to develop fully.

Fig square is a sweet yeast bread rolled around an allspice-scented fig filling, coiled jelly-roll style into a square pan, and baked golden. Slice into squares for breakfast or tea.

Baked apples stuffed with dried figs, cinnamon, and lemon zest, basted in orange juice. A naturally sweet dessert with no added sugar or butter.

Figs in Cabernet Sauvignon with Almond Ice Cream recipe

Green banana gratin (figue vert) simmered in chicken stock, mashed, enriched with eggs and cream, then baked under a cheesy bread crumb crust. A Caribbean-French side dish with warm spices.

Hearty fish soup loaded with haddock, cod, scallops, shrimp, and clams in a tomato broth with garlic, oregano, and bay leaves. A cioppino-style seafood stew.

Marinated flank steak with soy sauce, vermouth, garlic, and Tabasco. Broiled under high heat for just minutes and carved rare on the diagonal for maximum tenderness.

Florentine lasagna layers savory Italian sausage meat sauce with a creamy spinach-ricotta filling and melted mozzarella. Hearty, cheesy, and built for Sunday dinner.