159 lounge recipes

Homemade graham crackers from-scratch with whole graham flour, brown sugar, and a long overnight chill. Crisp, lightly sweet wholewheat crackers ready for s'mores, pie crusts, or straight-up snacking.

Homemade low-calorie cranberry concentrate with lemon, simmered and strained into a tart syrup. Refrigerate or freeze in cubes for instant cranberry drinks all season long.

Louisiana-style red beans and rice with a bold spice mix and an unexpected addition of grape juice for sweetness. No meat, all flavor, cooked from dried beans.

Killer shrimp: fiery herb-and-garlic broth with rosemary, thyme, fennel, and red pepper, simmered long then poached shrimp added at the end. Eaten with your fingers and plenty of bread.

Canned garlic dill pickles with red chili peppers, dill heads, and a balanced sweet-salt brine. Two quarts from one batch, water-bath processed for shelf-stable storage of 2 months or more.

Appetizers have long been a part of the culinary tradition in Europe, but they're relatively new to America. One of the first to appear in American cookbooks, at the turn of the century, was shrimp cocktail.

Glitscher: German potato dumplings shaped into long pointed torpedoes from raw and day-old boiled potatoes, simmered until tender. Regional German comfort food from the traditional dumpling playbook.

Old-school navy bean soup simmered with smoky ham hock, celery, golden onion, and a dash of cayenne. Naturally gluten-free, high-fiber, low-fat, and built for a long, lazy stovetop afternoon.

Canned garlic dill pickles with pickling spices, dill seed heads, red chili peppers, and a sweet-salty vinegar brine. Water bath processed for shelf-stable storage that improves over two months.

Homemade sweet gherkins the old-fashioned way: a 4-day process of soaking, brining, and building layers of spiced vinegar-sugar syrup. Turmeric, cinnamon, and celery seed. Water bath canned for the pantry.

Pickled dilled beans canned with fresh dill, garlic, and a kick of red pepper flakes. Crunchy whole green beans in a tart vinegar brine, the Bloody Mary garnish you'll never run out of.

Lovage, potato, and buttermilk soup with a velvety puree and tangy finish. A light, herbaceous soup that works hot or chilled with just five ingredients.

Traditional German rye sourdough starter (Sauerteig): a three-phase rye flour and water leaven built over 3 days for authentic German rye bread baking. Maintainable and long-keeping.

A quick Cajun red beans and rice with canned kidney beans, chopped sausage, Creole seasoning, and Louisiana hot sauce. Thick, spicy, and on the table in 30 minutes for a weeknight taste of New Orleans.

Quick stir-fried shrimp with garlic, ginger, green onion, and a brandy flambe finish. Butterflied shrimp seared over high heat and ready in under 5 minutes.

Easy cinnamon ornaments made from just applesauce and ground cinnamon, rolled, cut into festive shapes, and air-dried into fragrant, long-lasting holiday decorations. A no-bake craft, not for eating.