Cardamom

A quick almond crust gets filled with ice cream and topped with cardamom-scented whipped cream and berries.

Replacing the cinnamon with cardamom in this easy applesauce is a great way to appreciate the taste of the bracing spice.

A quick and easy breakfast treat.

The White Horse tavern accompanies this with lightly sautéed swiss chard.

A big finish for a big celebration dinner.

Indian Spice Mix This recipe makes more garam masala than you'll need for the baked rice. You can use what's left over for other Indian dishes or to give everyday meals a flavor boost. It's great stirred into ground beef for burgers or rubbed onto skinless boneless chicken breasts. Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 10 min

Chill the flans overnight before serving.

Serve the oranges alone or alongside a wedge of angel food cake or pound cake.

Applesauce can begin as a soothing breakfast fruit and end as a dessert, tucked inside a buckwheat crêpe or made into the glorious dessert. The pressure cooker in tandem with the food mill eliminates the need to peel and core the apples. You can have applesauce in 15 minutes. Quinces give applesauce an elusive perfume and turn it rosy pink.

Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 45 min

Serve this soup with a sandwich or a salad for a delicious lunch or light supper.

There are a number of variations of this traditional Scandinavian Yuletide drink. Dry red wine, muscatel and sweet vermouth, with aquavit in place of the brandy, may be used. In another version, 2 bottles of dry red wine, preferably Bordeaux, are used with the quantity of aquavit increased to a whole bottle, which is poured over the flaming sugar.

Found throughout the Middle East, this shortbread-style cookie remains white after baking. Some people make diamond-shaped or round cookies with this dough, but the ring shapes are more common.

Perfect with a cup of tea, especially a nicely spiced Indian chai.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 40 min

One recipe, two different looks: Half of the cookies are rolled in granulated sugar mixed with cardamom; the rest are sprinkled with a powdered sugar-cardamom mixture.

A cardamom- and orange-scented syrup is spooned over warm pears and scoops of vanilla ice cream in this lovely dessert. Refrigerate leftover poaching syrup to serve over ice cream later in the week.