Dried Fruit

It is no coincidence that the method used to bake this bread, steaming, is similar to one used by the native Indians of New England, who taught us how to use corn as a grain for bread. The most famous of our region's breads, this wholesome blend of wheat, rye, and corn flours is suitable for our diets today as it was 300 years ago.

Serve this warm over pancakes or waffles.

Because they are prepared with purchased ice cream, these parfaits are super-easy to make. For a dramatic option, alternate layers of white and green mint ice creams.

This duck recipe is unusually light and delicate.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Lavash, a Middle Eastern flatbread, comes in a variety of sizes and textures, from crisp rectangular crackers to large folded pliable rounds. It is the latter called for here. To form the lavash into cups, you'll need a pan with 12 mini-muffin (1/8-cup) molds, each about 1 3/4 inches across the top and 3/4 inch deep. Caponata is a piquant Sicilian dish of eggplant, onions, tomatoes, anchovies, olives, and capers, generously laced with olive oil; this variation is much lighter-and contains no added fat-because it omits the oil, anchovies, and olives.

The traditional apple, walnut and chopped celery salad is updated with a yogurt and low-fat mayonnaise citrus dressing, pine nuts and Cajun seasoning.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Called limpa in Sweden, this impressive bread is flavored with a combination of molasses, orange peel, crushed aniseed, and caraway and fennel seeds.

Miss Toklas frightens her readers when she says this dish takes four days to prepare. Actually, the labor involved is insignificant.

We highly recommend using California apricots for this recipe —their intense flavor and color give this frozen yogurt a real boost that's missing when it's made with the Turkish variety.

Surprise — a bit of ketchup helps the sweet and tart flavors blend. Make this up to three days ahead.

Raisins or dried cranberries could easily stand in for the dried tart cherries.

In this recipe, a casserole dish stands in for the traditional tagine. Serve with couscous or an Israeli salad of tomato, cucumber, and sweet onion.